


Alpha Male

by terrificly



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Alpha Aaron Hotchner, Alpha Derek Morgan, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2019-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-24 09:17:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 59,259
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14352510
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/terrificly/pseuds/terrificly
Summary: al·pha malea man tending to assume a dominant or domineering role in social or professional situations.





	1. Prologue

I never thought that this would happen between us. His wife just died, he has to raise his son alone, and I knew he needed some comfort. I didn't know that I'd be the one to give it to him, physically, and mentally. 

We're not really friends. He's my boss, and I respect him. Yeah our team is a family, and I'll have his back through anything, and I know he'd be the same for me, I trust him with my life, but we're not close. Not as close as he was with Gideon, and is with Rossi. Not as close as I am with Garcia, Reid, J.J., and even Prentiss.

We've just never clicked. Maybe it's because we're both natural born leaders. I can't even count how many times I've been called an "alpha male" on both my fingers and toes.

I wasn't really doing much to comfort him. I'd just watch his kid once in awhile, I adore Jack. I took over for him when he wasn't able to lead the team, and he was alright about that. He'd always be our leader, and I'm okay with that.

I hadn't noticed that he'd start smiling a little more whenever I was around, or how his smiles made my fucking day. I love women, believe me, I do. The thing about him is that when he smiles, he lights up the room, and it's so unbelievably gorgeous. His smile is so rare, that when you see it, you cherish it, and wish it'd stay there forever.

It wasn't until one night, that everything changed.

I'd walked in on him bawling his eyes out, and normally I'd leave this to Garcia or Rossi, but seeing as none of them were around, I had to be the one to comfort him.

So I pulled him into a tight hug. He's like an inch taller than me, but my shoulders are wider, and I was able to wrap my arms all around him, taking him completely by surprise. I sat him down on his bed, and then I let him cry into my shirt, which had seen a lot of tears in its time. Something happened between us that night, and suddenly we had this new air around us. It was like how I am around Garcia, only it was with him, and it felt good.

He became my new partner, we'd seen each other cry, something none of the others had ever witnessed, and that brought us closer, but in an intimate way. I'd catch us having moments, where we'd just stop and stare at each other, or he'd keep his hand on my arm for a little too long, and I'd catch Garcia eyeing us. Damn, that girl knew before me. Instead of Prentiss coming with me to a victim's home, or for a raid, he'd always be in the car with me, not with Rossi, Reid, Prentiss, or JJ.

Slowly, I found myself feeling something, something really big, and really scared I tried to push it away. Once, I told a suspect, William Harris, that I had absolutely no idea what it was like to be in love with another man. Well, I owe William an apology, because now I think I do.


	2. Derek Gives a Speech

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A/N the events in this story do not take place in the same manner that they do in the show, Garcia getting shot and Hayley's death are nowhere near each other in the show, however for creative purposes I put them near each other in this story. Now that it's settled however, enjoy this chapter!

Derek shakes his head in disbelief at the girl on the other end of the phone. She just got shot for Christ's sake! And now she thinks she should be lifting a computer monitor?

"Hey, hardhead, leave it alone, I'll fix it when I get there." Penelope starts to protest when Derek cuts her off. "Don't make me spank you," Derek says, bringing his voice to a whisper, yet the other members of his team all hear him. "Is that a threat or a promise?" Comes from the phone right before Spencer interrupts.

"Don't listen to him, Garcia. He's all talk- OUCH!" The young genius rubs the back of his head after Derek smacks him.

Spencer gapes, and Dave chuckles, while Jennifer continues reading her magazine, rolling her eyes at the routine antics of the boys. "JJ he just hit me!" Reid yells, disbelief evident on his face.

Morgan continues to argue with Penelope after Jennifer says, "boys behave, or I'll ground you both."

"Okay fine! I won't move the fucking monitor!" Garcia exclaims and Derek laughs loudly. "I knew you'd eventually see things my way. But since I know you so well, Ms. Penelope Garcia, I'll have Anderson move it for you. Love you, bye!" He hangs up and shoots a quick text to Agent Anderson, and apologizes beforehand, because if he knows his baby girl, Garcia will try to scratch the poor man's eyes out.

After going to the Bluetooth on his phone, Derek Morgan takes his headphones out, and puts them over his ears, before letting his music distract him for the rest of the plane ride. He takes the only seat remaining in front of his Unit Chief and sends a nod of acknowledgment to his superior.

Just as he's about to see the back of his eyelids, Derek notices the grown man in front of him, struggling to fight back tears. He looks around, is anyone else seeing this? To his dismay, no one is paying attention.

Morgan lets out a long sigh. He studies Hotch, watching as he looks at a picture on his phone, whatever he's seeing, causes the first lone tear to run down his face.

I can't just let him cry. Not here. Not in front of everyone. Derek knew Aaron was about to break down. He'd seen it once before.

_~ Flashback ~_

_**(6 months ago)**  _

_Derek drives frantically after he hears the gunshots come from the other side of the line._

_That was it. That was the end of Haley Hotchner. Rossi's eyes fill with sorrow, and Morgan curses loudly. Hotch's line disconnects and Derek curses again, much more. "Morgan. Calm down." Rossi instructs._

_"How can I Rossi?" Morgan says, his eyes focused on the road, but his mind elsewhere. "I've known them both for years. Jack is like my nephew I-I-" Derek stops and takes a breath, and Dave notices the pain laced in the younger agent's voice. "Now she's gone. She's just gone. I ordered to put them in protective custody, and now, now she's just FUCK!" Derek rambles, before hitting the steering wheel. "I know son, I know, but right now, we need to help Aaron. Let's get there before Foyet finds Jack." Derek's eyes harden at the little boy who he's so fond of._

_"I'll die before I let any harm come to that little boy." And with that, Derek pushes down on the accelerator as hard as he can and arrives at the Hotchner's old family household in under three minutes._

_The first thing Derek notices when he pulls into the driveway is that Aaron's car vehicle is already there. The next thing he notices is that the door is wide open. JJ and Prentiss meet up with the males, and Morgan takes the lead, and together they clear the house until they reach the living room, where Aaron Hotchner, ex-Unit Chief of the BAU, is currently beating a lifeless George Foyet aka the Boston Reaper. The other team members share a look, and without hesitation, Morgan steps forward, to pull the older man off the bloody cadaver. Hotch's hands curl into fists, and Derek holds the man, who is fighting against him to get his hands back on the bastard who killed his wife. Derek tightens his arms around Hotch, almost hugging him. His hand goes to a spot on his elbow, letting Hotch know it's alright, he can break down right now. Derek does the only thing he knows to try and help Aaron. He holds the older man tighter, this time, and brings his lips closer to the Hotch's ears. "It's over." He whispers, Aaron registers Derek's hot breath fanning over his ear, and then registers the words, before breaking down. Rossi, Prentiss, and JJ all share a look, each having a similar expression on their face: Shock or Pain._

_Prentiss and JJ held a look of shock, they'd never seen the man have a weak moment. Yes it was a difficult situation, but in all the years they'd all known each other, he was the strongest out of each and every one of them, and it was shocking and painful to them, to see him breaking down right there, right in front of them._

_Rossi's eyes held so much pain, it was unbearable. He'd known Aaron the longest out of everyone, and the only times he'd ever seen the man break was when it came to dealing with the now late Boston Reaper. Reid comes in behind everyone else and watches the scene with wet eyes._

_Derek continues holding the broken man until Aaron stands abruptly as if suddenly remembering something. He races to the familiar stairwell of his old home, and he rushes up the stairs, Derek Morgan, and the rest of the team right behind him._

_Aaron makes his way into his old home office and checks the bin next to his old desk, the place he'd told Jack to hide, without anyone else knowing._

_He yanks it open, and to his relief, his little boy is laying there, a phone in his hand, and a small frown on his face, but that soon turns into a full-blown smile, when young Jack Hotchner sees his father above him. Aaron picks his boy up and wraps him in the tightest hug ever, planting kisses all over his son's face, managing not to let his son see him cry._

_JJ discreetly wipes her eyes where tears are threatening to spill. She starts to think about her son, hoping that nothing like this ever happens to him._

_"You're going to go with Auntie Jennifer over there, would you like that buddy?" Jennifer immediately puts on a smile, and walks over to the little boy and his father, holding her hand out for him. Jack eagerly takes it, not quite sure of the situation he's in, but happy that he gets to play with his Daddy's friends._

_Prentiss goes with JJ and Jack, and Rossi goes to make a few calls. Derek stands by the door, not too close to Hotch, but close enough to where Aaron knows the man is there for him._

_Without saying a word, Hotch makes his way to his old bedroom, Derek not far behind, and looks at his dead wife._

_He falls to the floor, and cradles her lifeless body in her arms, breaking down once again, in front of Derek Morgan. Derek stands back silently, staying there with the man when the coroner gets there when Hotch gets questioned, even when Hotch asks if Jack can stay with Jennifer, which she happily accepts._

_Aaron had already trusted Derek Morgan with his life, but as the younger agent stayed with him, he trusted him on a deeper level._

_~ End of Flashback ~_

Derek pulls his headphones from over his ears and sets them and his phone on the table. He gently pulls Aaron's phone from the man's grip and sets it on the table as well. Derek watches as Aaron looks at him, and has a somewhat numb look on his face.

Morgan stands and pulls the older man with him, to the bathroom, which is a bigger than normal planes have, but that should be expected as it is a private jet for the FBI, and ignores the curious glances of the other members of the BAU, who now decide to pay attention.

Now you want to look, huh? Derek thinks to himself.

Once the door is closed, Derek gives a simple nod to his Superior, letting him know it's alright.

 _It's okay to break down here.  
_ Derek says with his eyes.

The man gratefully smiles, and Derek is glad he remembered to pick his headphones back up because he couldn't bear to hear or see the older man cry again. Not only would that be a painful sight, it would absolutely break him. Aaron Hotchner is the strongest of the BAU. Many have said that he was a close second, and Derek begs to differ. Derek couldn't imagine going through whatever Hotch is dealing with, and he hoped he would. If Derek saw the man cry for the third time, he doesn't know what he'd do.

Derek put the headphones over his ears, and shut his eyes tightly, back towards Aaron slightly, but in a way that respects his space, but also shows him that the younger man was right here for him.

After five minutes Derek gets a tap on his back. When he looks up, he sees Aaron gesturing for him to move, and Derek backs away from the sink, looking Aaron in the eyes as he does, even though it pains the younger agent, because his eyes are very red, like he's been doing drugs. Derek hands him a paper towel, and leans againsg the wall, removing his red headphones from his ears. After he is finished wiping his face, he dries it with the towel Derek handed him and tosses it into the small trash bin under the gray granite sink. Aaron turns so that he is now facing Derek, and mirrors the other man, leaning against the wall.

The two men studied each other for a minute. Finally, the older man decides to speak. "Thank you." He says to the darker male, firmly. Derek nods and continues to study his team member.

"No problem," Derek starts, standing straighter and crossing his arms. "-but you know you can tell us if you're not up to being here," Morgan says, examining the man's face to see his reaction. Just like he'd thought, the older man's face stays neutral. When he doesn't get a reaction Derek speaks again. "Look Hotch, I have no idea what you're going through, and it can't be easy, and this may sound harsh, but you shouldn't be here."

This time, Derek does get a reaction out of his boss. "Are you saying I can't do my job!" He yells, surprising Derek, who doesn't let his surprise show, and instead quirks an eyebrow.

"I don't recall saying any of that. To answer your question, no. All I'm saying is that you aren't yourself right now. I get it, but your outburst just now backs up my theory. Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, Unit Chief for the Behavioral Analysis Unit, would never have lost his cool if he thought that I was implying that he couldn't do his job. Nah, that Aaron Hotchner would have got me in check, and say something that displays his savagery, and somewhere, if any of the other members were watching, which they would be the nosy fuckers, Prentiss would yell, "you just got Hotched!" and the rest of them would laugh, while I stormed off angrily, pissed at the fact that you just scolded me," Derek Morgan explains, and from outside of the bathroom he hears what sounds likes said members of the BAU listening in on their conversation, groaning angrily at the way Morgan describes them.

Hotch raises an eyebrow at Morgan because he too heard the other members, and Derek shoots him a 'see what I mean?' look. Not caring about their nosy friends, Derek continues to lecture his boss.

"This Aaron Hotchner, however, has a hole somewhere inside of him. It doesn't show in your work, it does, however, show in your demeanor. This Aaron is angry, all the time, he blames himself, and even though he doesn't mean to he blames his co-workers, and is unintentionally neglecting his only child, who recently lost his mother. I tell you this from experience, that it is best to stick together when you both lose someone. If you don't, you'll regret it. You and Jack will grow apart, believe me, he'll cut ties with you as soon as he's out of your house. It'll be years before you guys finally make amends."

Aaron Hotchner suddenly feels ashamed and finds the ground rather interesting, the younger agent unintentionally being condescending, but even though Aaron hear the condescension in the man, he can also hear what sounds like pleading in his colleague's voice, and maybe just a little bit of pain.

'I tell you this from experience.'

Aaron thinks back to what Derek said earlier.

"Tell me, where is Jack right now?" Morgan asks, growing frustrated at the fact that his Superior won't look him in the eye. Shouldn't it be the other way around?

"With Jessica." Aaron mumbles.

"Jessica as in Haley's sister, Jessica?" Derek asks, his tone telling Hotch that he already knows the answer.

"Yes." Hotch mumbles, then looks Morgan in the eye because it's rude not to.

"You're a profiler, Aaron. You and I both know what Jessica thinks of you right now, she doesn't mean to, just like you don't mean to, but she blames us. She just might be right, I mean, I could've driven faster, I could've figured it out faster, I shouldn't have put Haley in protective custody, and I will take the blame for this. But we both know that she blames you, because you're the FBI agent, her brother-in-law, and although you guys were divorced, she thinks you still should've saved her. She loves you no doubt, along with her nephew, but in her eyes, you killed her sister, and Jack is just the constant reminder of what she lost."

Aaron watches the younger man, studying his face for anything that will give away his pain. Derek doesn't even clench his jaw. But all the evidence is in the younger man's voice. He'd went through this before, as he's stated, but it was much deeper than that. Ignoring the look his boss is giving him, Derek Morgan continues speaking to the older man, trying to figure out if he can actually get the man to notice what he's doing to his child.

"She doesn't hate you, and she never will. In a month or so she'll feel so ashamed for thinking like that, she'll come up to you and apologize, and you'll cut her off, tell her that it's alright, because, for some time, you blamed yourself as well." Before the younger man can continue, Aaron has a question.

"Who is to say I won't still blame myself?" He asks, his face no longer angry, but he has the normal blank face you can always catch him with.

"I am. Because you'll stop blaming yourself by the end of the day. Listen here when I tell you this, Aaron, and I mean it. Listen. This whole team did everything and more in our power to save her, to save your family. We didn't get there in time, and it's no one's fault. No one except the son of a bitch who did it, and I'm not entirely mad that you killed him, but I wished the bastard got to go to jail and rot there forever, because every day I'd make a trip down there, just to beat the shit out of him, for all the families he destroyed. Instead, he's rotting in hell, and he's getting hell from Lucifer, who is warming him up for me as we speak." That manages to get a smirk from Hotch. Noticing this, Derek smiles and starts again.

"Anyways, to the point. It's not your fault. I'm telling you this as a friend, and as a child growing up with only one parent, it is hard. Very hard. Together you too can get through her loss, and move on. I'm not saying forget her, you'll never forget her, she's with you for the rest of your lives, but you need to move on. You need to be the mom and dad for your son, and you need to raise him. That being said, as soon as this jet lands, you're going to get into your car, drive to Jessica's residence, show her that even though she blames you right now, you're still there for here. Then, you're going to take a month or two off, you're going to spend time with your son, and you're going to heal together. Let him know that even though his mother is gone, you love him enough for the both of you."

Aaron starts to cut the younger man off. Derek raises his hand, gesturing for Hotch to shut up. "I figured you'd only take a month off, but I just wanted to see if I could sneak in two. Anyways, in the month that you take off, not once do I want to see you at a crime scene, or local police station, or else I'll personally escort you back to Quantico, you hear?" Derek finishes a playful smirk on his face, but his eyes deadly serious.

Aaron smiles to himself. Morgan really is a true leader.

"You do realize I'm your boss, right?" Aaron asks, grinning, making both dimples show proudly, catching Derek off guard.

The older man's smile is so contagious, Derek feels his cheekbones rising before he has any say in the matter. "Whatever, you're still going to do as told." Derek says, a knowing smirk replacing the involuntary smile.

Instead of replying with a funny retort, Hotch just stares at the younger man, a grateful expression on his face. "What?" The shorter agent asks but gets his answer when his boss surprises him and wraps him in a big, tight hug.

Derek's body stills for a brief moment, before wrapping his arms around the older man and patting his back awkwardly. "Thank you," Aaron whispers, and this time, Derek lets a voluntary smile make its way onto his face.


	3. Special Agent Derek Morgan...the Nanny?

**1 month later**

Interim Behavioral Analysis Unit Chief, Supervisory Special Agent Derek Morgan was busy finishing up the paperwork for his last few cases when he noticed the sun had come up.

_It's not like I go to sleep anyways._

After closing the last file, he decides to make his presence known to his team members, who probably didn't even know he was there, except maybe for Spencer, Derek's roommate.

He heads straight to the small kitchen, grabbing the coffee pot and pouring some into his cup. As he's mixing in his extras, JJ walks into the kitchen, surprise evident on her face. "When did you get in?" The small blonde woman asks, grabbing her own cup, before pouring some.

Derek shrugs and hands the small woman a straw before he hears the sound of his partner, Prentiss' loud voice. "Look what the cat dragged in." He hears her say, and Jennifer and he both go to the opening to look.

With his son's small hand in his, Aaron Hotchner stands by a desk, a large smile on his face.

"HOTCH IS BACK!" Emily screams, before tackling the man in a large hug. As I go to grab Jack, Penelope and Jennifer grab his hand and snatch him away.

Derek's eyes furrow when he tries to grab the young boy and Garcia steps in front of him, while Jennifer covers the young boy with kisses. A frown makes it's way onto Derek's face as he tries to grab Jack again, but Jennifer snatches him away, and Penelope tries to scratch the Interim Chief, who sends her a puzzled look. She sends him and unashamed sheepish look. "Sorry gorgeous, he's all mine." Then, the bubbly technical analyst takes off in the direction of her office, the little boy's hand in hers, and the ex-liaison chasing after her.

Morgan narrows his eyes at the two, and Rossi rolls his eyes at their antics. Instead of chasing after the two, Derek turns back to his recently returned colleague and they shake hands, a playful smile graces the melanin man's face.

"Welcome back, Hotchy Hotch. Will you take your job back now?" Derek asks, almost pleading.

Aaron notices the tone of the younger man, and laughs loudly, causing the other members to smile, glad that he was much better. "Couldn't do it, could you?" His smile is playful, so Derek decides to play along with the older man and forces a scowl on his face.

"Of course I could, I'd just prefer not to. Believe me, I love it, but I'm doing this for all the girls who are lonely at night when I'm stuck in the office." Derek tells the grinning man, a cocky smirk replacing the scowl.

Emily scoffs, and rolls her eyes, before smacking her friend on the back of his shiny head. Morgan glares at her, his eyes shooting daggers into hers. "Emily do it again, see what happens-" Derek is cut off mid-threat, by the beanpole genius.

"Actually, there are many lonely girls every night, the amoun-" Derek growls. "Don't make me smack you in front of the whole office." The older man tells the genius, gesturing to the busy office where others were bustling about, but also looking at the group every now and then.

Reid shuts his mouth.

Aaron watches the whole scene with amusement, he's not ashamed to admit that he missed this group. A lot. Remembering the question that started this playful banter, Aaron looks back to Derek.

"I'd be rather pleased to take the job back, but I'm afraid there is no one to watch Jack," Aaron says, a small frown on his face.

Derek jumps into action before any of the girls can say anything. "I'LL DO IT! I'LL DO IT REALLY! Please don't make me be in charge of these idiots any longer." The muscular man says, earning a few hits to his body from the other girls who'd just returned with Jack, and one from Reid, whose hit was surprisingly strong.

Morgan ducks, and runs behind Hotch, the taller man shielding him from their other team members. Derek peeks over the man's shoulder and whispers into his ear. "See what I mean? They're abusive."

Yet again, Derek Morgan's breath fans over Aaron's ear, causing the man to unwillingly shiver. Derek notices and steps back a little, the whole scene becoming a little awkward now. Much to Derek (and Aaron's) surprise, Aaron laughs, shaking his head a little. While it looked like a simple playful 'I can't believe them' shake of the head to the others, to Aaron it was his way of telling himself not to think too much of the man behind him.

"How are you going to help "lonely girls" if you're watching my son?" Aaron says, using a tone that lets Derek know all is fine. Morgan relaxes a little, a relieved smile on his face. "Come on Hotch," Derek says, putting an arm over the man's shoulder. "Don't you know kids are total chick magnets?" Aaron raises an eyebrow, while JJ and Prentiss roll their eyes.

"The females will be all over me, let me just "accidentally" walk into a Kroger or a Wal-Mart with little Jack here."

At the mention of his name, six-year-old Jack looks up to his Daddy's friend. Derek squats down to the young boy's level. "Will you be wingman buddy? I bet you'd make a way better one than Dr. Reid over there." The young boy nods excitedly, giving Morgan a high-five. Spencer, however, looks at Morgan with a glare.

Derek ignores the look his roommate gives him, and instead picks Jack up, placing the young boy on his shoulders. "It's settled then. Hotch take your job back, and give me the keys to your house."

***     *       ***

A few weeks went by, and Derek found that if he wasn't at work, he'd be at Aaron's home, spending time with the young boy.

Derek didn't actually go after girls, instead, he taught Jack and Spencer how to play baseball, took Jack to parks, made sure he had stuff ready for school.

The other BAU members made fun of him once, when he came into the office after dropping Jack off at school for having an apron on. As far as they knew, he was the manliest mom ever.

One time, not only did Morgan find himself making dinner for Jack, but he made a plate for Aaron as well. He'd set in the microwave, then thought that it'd probably be weird, so Derek took the plate out and ate it himself. Then, feeling bad, he started to make another plate, only for Aaron to come in a little bit later, with Chinese takeout in his hands.

Derek glared at Aaron for a full five minutes, leaving the older man very dumbfounded, when Morgan didn't explain his face, Aaron shrugged and dug into his food, turning on a movie as he ate.

"You should go. We have to go to Kentucky tomorrow, and it's already late." Aaron says to the other man, who'd come down from checking on Jack.

Usually, the BAU all had the same schedule, but after Erin Strauss passed, Hotch had been taking on more and more jobs, making him stay at work a lot longer than the other members, hence the need for a nanny. Seeing as Jack went to school for the first half of the day, he didn't need a babysitter, Jessica would pick the young boy up from school. But, she worked a later shift as a nurse at the hospital, and couldn't watch the younger boy, that's where Morgan stepped in.

After his breakup with a long-time girlfriend (almost fiance) Savannah, Derek had been really lonely. That's the reason why when Spencer needed a place to stay, Morgan jumped at the offer, ecstatic about having another companion at home besides his dog, Clooney.

Derek looks up from his phone, almost forgetting where he was. "Oh right, sorry man. I'll be out of your hair in a minute." The younger agent says, making it sound like he thought Aaron didn't want him there.

Aaron looks up at the younger man, meaning to explain, but hears the door close before he has the chance to.

Derek wasn't upset, and he'd known he probably seemed that way, which is why he left in a hurry, not wanting Hotch to apologize and for it to be awkward.

Aaron stares at the door, moments after the other man leaves, a perplexed expression etched onto his face.

Just what the hell was that about?


	4. Aaron Gets a...Hug?

"Reid?" Derek calls out into the darkness.

"Hm?" The young genius asks, his back towards the older man. Their relationship is completely platonic, they live together, and Reid has nightmares, so Derek lets the younger man sleep in his bed.

"This last case, I don't think it's finished," Derek says, and the younger man sighs and turns, his face flushing a little as he takes in the bare chested man. Derek notices but pretends not to, as not to embarrass the other man. "What do you mean, Derek?" Spencer says, looking the older man in the eyes.

Derek sits up, leaning his head on the palm of his hand, and adding weight to his elbow. "We've never caught an UnSub this quick. We're usually gone for a few days, sometimes weeks, and rarely months. Yet we were on the plane in the morning and back by late afternoon." Derek explains, the case still not sitting right.

Just like he'd said, Hotch and the team went to Kentucky early the next morning, to profile a serial killer who'd been abducting families, but only killed the children. They were on a jet a few hours later, because the guy had confessed to it all, and the team saw that as a victory. Rossi, Reid, Prentiss, and Garcia all went out to some bar that Rossi loved very much, JJ and Hotch went home to their children, and Derek stayed at the office, looking the case over and over again, until one of the security guards had to tell him to leave.

It had just gone on ten o'clock when Morgan arrived at home and found Spencer knocked out on the couch, one of the rare occasions that he could actually sleep, and a note from Rossi that said Reid couldn't hang, so they'd dropped him off and were going to continue celebrating, after reading the note, Derek woke the younger man up and brought him to bed.

"He fits the profile, Derek. He even confessed. Just be glad he didn't kill any more kids." Spencer says, his voice becoming low, and Derek could tell he was trying not fall asleep once again.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Derek says, waiting for Spence to fall asleep. Spencer nods his head, eyes still closed, before turning his back on Derek once more, and going back to sleep.

Once he's sure that the man is sleep, Derek quietly slips out of the bed, and pulls on a hoodie and some sweats, not bothering to grab a t-shirt. Derek heads to the bathroom and grabs the bottle of aspirin, and then he goes to his mini fridge, pulling out a water bottle and setting them both on the nightstand next to Spencer.

The Kid's going to have a pretty bad hangover the next morning, especially since he went out with Rossi, the expert on all things edible alcohol.

Derek slips on his Nike slides and quietly grabs his car keys, his wallet with his credentials, his phone, and his gun. He shuts his bedroom door slowly, and walks to the living room, grabbing the case file he left on the table before heading to the front door.

Before he leaves, Derek turns on the cameras planted around the house, so that he can monitor his home and Reid's safety from his phone, while he's away. The cameras are small and discreet so that they go undetected. After what happened to Aaron, all the team had cameras put into their homes, unbeknownst to any of the others, so that they could protect their family even while they're away. If there was any movement that the cameras captured, a ping would be sent to Derek's phone, and if it was non-threatening, he'd ignore it, a majority of the time, it was the cat that belonged to the lady next door. Not only did the cameras reassure Derek, but they reassured Spencer as well, who still had nightmares about his torture that came from Tobias Hankle, one of the reasons he'd moved in with Derek in the first place. After making sure all the red lights are on, Derek locks up the house and heads to his car.

After a short ride to Aaron's home, Derek parks his car behind Aaron's. He grabs the case file from the passenger seat, before getting out of his car. When Derek gets to his boss' door, he notices it isn't locked, causing panic to seep into the man's features.

Aaron always locks his door.

Derek pulls his gun, fearing the worst. If the door isn't locked, what does that mean for Aaron and Jack?

Derek opens the door, quietly, setting the case file onto the table next to the door. He turns the small flashlight on, before looking around downstairs, for evidence of a struggle. He doesn't find any. Nothing seems out of place, and it doesn't look like Aaron put up a fight, which reassures Derek. Aaron would never allow someone threatening into his home, and out of it without putting up a fight.

But what if someone had Jack?

Derek thinks and immediately regrets it, because the small reassurance he'd had dissipated.

Morgan quietly closes the door, before ascending the stairs and heading to Jack's room.

To his horror, the young boy isn't in his room, sleeping like he usually would be at this hour. Derek wouldn't have been worried if he hadn't noticed the disheveled bed, the kind he sees in kidnapping cases. For a 6-year-old, Jack is very neat, and always makes his bed and cleans his room, without asking, yet right now, not only does his bed look disheveled, his room looks like it had been ransacked. Drawers were open, the closet was messily displayed, and since he was panicking, Derek hadn't noticed that one of Jack's backpacks and a few of his clothes and shoes were missing.

Derek runs his hand over his face, trying to figure out what to do, when he hears a small noise, coming from Aaron's room. Without thinking, he quickly heads to the older man's room, not hearing the sniffles until after he kicks the door in.

Aaron looks up immediately, his gun pointed at Derek's head. Once he registers that it's his colleague, he puts his gun down, turning his back to the confused man, not caring that he was there, and instead continues crying. Derek holsters his gun, and stands there for a minute, unsure of what to do, and having an internal battle with himself.

What the fuck am I supposed to do?

After another minute of debate, Morgan sighs, and slowly walks over to Aaron. He couldn't just let him sit there and cry, could he?

Derek sits down beside Aaron and puts a comforting hand on his shoulder, not entirely sure if he should hug the man, seeing as how he didn't want to get punched in the jaw. Aaron tensed for a second, before surprising the younger man, and turns to face him, before putting his entire face in the young man's chest, sobbing.

This time, Derek is the one who becomes tense, not entirely sure how he should handle this. Reluctantly, he wraps his arms around his friend and lets him cry into his hoodie. The poor hoodie had been through a lot, having been stolen a couple times by a few of his ex's, having been cried on by whoever he'd chosen to comfort, and once it turned pink.

Derek sits there with Hotch for about an hour, rubbing the older man's back, consoling him, telling him to let it all out, causing his hoodie to become soaked in the process. When Aaron stops crying, he stands and heads to the bathroom. Derek glances at his watch, and it's just going on 12 AM.

Derek grabs his phone and decides to check on the loft. The rest of the house looks in place, and when he gets to his room, he finds that Reid is just getting up, the camera from the hall catching the movement. Derek calls Reid, who picks up on the second ring.

"You're watching me, aren't you?" He asks as soon as he answers. Derek chuckles a little and looks back at the bathroom to see if Hotch is coming out of it. "No, Kid. Just checking the loft, I've got some pretty expensive magazines in there that I don't have insurance on." Reid squints his eyes, and Derek chuckles a little louder. "What's wrong, Kid? Have a little too much to drink?" Derek asks with a smirk, already knowing the answer.

"So what if I did?" Reid retorts, grabbing the pills and water that Derek set out for him.

"Nothing, just wanted to see if you want me to pick some food up for you? Something I don't know, greasy?" Derek smirks when he gets the reaction he wanted from the young man, who gags.

"No Morgan." Reid groans, and stumbles to the bathroom.

Derek grins widely. "You sure, Reid? Five Guys is just around the corner." Reid groans again, and when he gets to the bathroom door, he slides down on the ground.

"Stop Derek." He says pleadingly, trying not to vomit.

"But I thought you loved their juicy burgers, and grease riddled fries?" Morgan pumps his fist in victory when he sees that "grease riddled" got to the young man, who quickly crawls into the bathroom. Derek doesn't need to see to know that Reid is emptying whatever he ate or drank that evening into the round bowl called a toilet.

"What's wrong, Pretty Ricky? You look sick?" Derek says, hiding the laughter that's threatening to escape his mouth when Aaron comes from the bathroom.

"Fuck you, Morgan," Spencer says, glaring directly at the camera.

Derek's cheeks start hurting from the amount of smiling he's doing, and he watches Hotch out of the corner of his eye.

"Sorry Kid, I'm not into that type of stuff," he hides his laughter when he sees Reid roll his eyes. "Go back to sleep, I'll be there soon. You still love me, don't you?" Derek asks and Spencer scoffs. "I'll get back to you on that," Reid says before hanging up.

Morgan slips his phone into his pocket, before standing to face Hotch, who can't seem to look the younger man in the eye.

"Are you alright?" Derek asks, studying the man's face, and it doesn't look like a face that had recently been tear streaked.

"Not now, but I will be," Aaron says, finally looking the younger agent in the eyes, speaking truthfully.

Derek nods understandingly, before walking over to the dresser where he'd sat his gun, and grabs it.

"Where are you going?" Aaron asks, eyes furrowed.

"Home?"  
Derek says, however his confusion makes it come out like a question.

"Well, you came all the way out here for a reason, so out with it." Aaron says, sitting on his bed.

"It's nothing really," Derek starts. "The case we did earlier just wasn't sitting right with me." Aaron nods his head, and walks out of the room, leaving Morgan dumbfounded.

Aaron pops his head back into the room.

"Are you coming?"

Hours pass and Derek and Hotch go over the case again, and again until they come up with a new profile. Derek slams the case file onto the couch in frustration and rubs his forehead as Hotch comes back into the living room with two cups of coffee.

"What's wrong now?" Aaron asks, after handing Derek a cup.

Derek takes a sip of his coffee, before letting out a long sigh. "I don't know Hotch. It's still not sitting right with me." He says, before taking another sip of coffee.

"Well, what more do you want to do, Morgan? We sent the new profile to the Covington P.D. If we really did get the wrong guy, they'll catch the right one." Aaron tells Morgan, taking a sip of his own coffee. "That's the thing, Hotch. That guy we caught is guilty of something, but he didn't kill those kids." Derek explains, and Aaron blinks at him.

Morgan lets out another sigh. "Nevermind, Hotch. I should be going now, it's 4 AM and I have work today." Derek says while standing up.

Hotch quirks an eyebrow. "Don't you mean 'we' have work today? Or do you have a side job? Are you an escort!" Aaron asks in one breath, and Derek stares at him incredulously. "What the hell Aaron?" Derek asks in disbelief, and Aaron grins, causing both dimples to show proudly. Derek finds himself smiling along with the man, who suddenly lets out a loud burst of laughter. When the older man stops laughing, Derek stands. "Anyways, I wasn't wrong when I said, 'I was going to work.' You're taking a day off, and you're spending time with your son." Derek says, eyes playful but tone dead serious, as he grabs his belongings.

Aaron furrows his eyebrows. "What do you mean? Of course, I'm going in today." Derek walks to the door, discreetly snatches Aaron's car keys and stuff them in his pocket. "Actually you're not. Now cancel all of your plans for the day, and Jessica will be by to drop your son off."

And with that, Derek slips out of the front door, already in his car by the time Aaron realizes that his keys are missing. Aaron runs out of the house as Derek is backing and, and he looks furious, but Derek just sends him a smile, and a little wave, before driving off. 

Derek smirks triumphantly when he notices his boss actually stomp his foot in frustration.


	5. Operation MORTCHNER

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So it begins...the twists and turns that is every single relationship ever.

Everything had been going fine. 

Derek and Aaron leaned on each other a lot, whether it be the job or in their personal lives, and their team members noticed it as well.

“What am I not good enough for you anymore?” Prentiss asks as Derek walks back into the office after coming from the home of a suspect with Hotch. Derek’s eyebrow shoots up and Hotch who’d been right behind him smirks. “What’s the matter Emily, jealous?” Aaron asks, surprising both Derek and Emily, whose jaw drops. 

He simply laughs and walks past Derek, patting his shoulder as he walks past and Derek smiles at the small touch. 

He watches Agent Hotchner enter his own office and when he comes back to his surroundings he notices none other Penelope Garcia eyeing him suspiciously.

“What’s the matter, Mama?” He asks, and for the second time in the past ten minutes his eyebrow shoots up.

“Oh nothing HotStuff. Just figuring out some things.” With that she walks past him quickly, grabbing Emily off of her desk and the two of them leave his sight quickly, whispering excitedly.

“Children. They are children.” Derek mutters, before heading to his own office to get finished with some paperwork.

~ Meanwhile in Garcia’s Office ~  
“Okay is it just me or do Hotch and Morgan seem a lot closer?” Garcia asks J.J. and Emily who are sitting in her office.

“You know I thought I was the only one who noticed that.” J.J. asks, eyeing the bag of chips in Emily’s hands.

“Really I’ve noticed nothing new.” Emily says, taking another handful of potato chips and chewing them obnoxiously in front of J.J. who just glares at her.

“That’s tragic, aren’t you supposed to be the profiler here? I mean sure Jayge is one now, but you’ve been one for way longer than she has.” Penelope says, snatching the bag out of Prentiss’ hands and handing it to Jennifer who grins wickedly.

“Whatever, please elaborate Penelope.” Emily says, pouting in her rolling chair as Jennifer devours the chips. 

“I shouldn’t have to, instead of your or Reid, Derek chooses to go with Hotch on raids, or interviewing suspects. They’re always at each other’s places, I’ve noticed some lingering looks and lingering touches. I sense an office romance coming soon.” Jennifer and Emily nod their head as they realize everything she’s saying is true.

Suddenly Penelope grins. 

“Woah that’s never good, what’s going on in your brain?” Emily asks, making quick eye contact with Jennifer who just shrugs.

“I’ve got the perfect idea.”

***  
Her plan ended terribly.

It had been to get Aaron or Derek or both drunk enough at a bar where they could discuss their growing feelings.

No, instead Derek insisted on staying with Jack while his father had a much needed night off. While it was sweet, it did not work in Penelope’s favor.

She’d tried to get Aaron drunk enough where he could potentially confess to his feelings for Derek, and she could convince him to tell the other man, however she left for one second. ONE. When she returned he was chatting up a female in the corner, and from the way he was touching her the conversation was going very well.

Penelope debated on whether or not she should pull a “He’s cheating on me” stunt to get the female to leave him alone, but decided that she actually liked her job, and that there were too many familiar faces around that could easily back Hotch up after her stunt.

With that she left the bartender Derek’s number and told him that if Hotch got too drunk to call that number, or a cab for whenever he decided to leave.

She waves a goodbye at Aaron who gives her a grin and a thumbs up before exiting the club.  
~  
Operation: MORTCHNER  
Op1 Status: FAIL  
Op2 Status: in need of plan

~  
Derek’s woken up by the sound of giggling and stumbling at about 3 in the morning and he’s on his feet in a flash. He’d been knocked out on a beanbag in Jack’s room, having fallen asleep shortly after Jack did while reading him a bedtime story. He hears more stumbling, and decides to go down to see if everything’s alright.

“Hey Hotch need any hel-“ Derek’s does his best to hide his surprise at the scene that’s in front of him.

Aaron’s clothes are all rumpled and his hands are running up and down the sides of a female Derek’s never seen before.

Derek doesn’t understand it, but suddenly he’s very angry, and pissed at Aaron.

“Hey, your son is sleep a floor above you. Quiet down will you?” Derek’s voice captures Aaron’s attention, and instead of I don’t know, deciding to calm it down, Aaron says, “he’ll be fine, you can go now.” Then returns to eating the poor woman’s face.

Derek doesn’t hide his fury at being dismissed and if it wasn’t for said child in the house, sleeping peacefully he would’ve gladly told Aaron where he could go. Instead though, he grabs his keys and rolls his eyes at Aaron, making sure the pain isn’t evident in his facial features.

If only it weren’t for Jack, the door would be slammed as Derek walked out.

. . .

The next day was very tense. Derek was back with Prentiss or Reid, which hadn’t been his plan originally no. He was going to ride with Hotch like usual, but noticed he’d gone with Rossi instead, and didn’t understand why the sudden change. 

Then again, when they reached the police department, Hotch ordered him to stay at the station and work with J.J. and the local police officers whilst he and the rest of the team (minus Penelope) went out into the field.

The most recent event being when they’d apprehended the suspect, who ran of course (they always do) and Derek took off in a sprint with Hotch not too far behind and then the suspect turned a corner, waiting for Derek with a gun when he got to the same corner. Derek made quick eye contact with Hotch, who gave him a nod and then suddenly two shots rang out while Derek was leaping out of the way, Hotch taking his place and firing a shot, knocking the suspect unconscious.

 

Hotch runs over to the suspect, disarming him and checks his pulse before cuffing him, and then he turns and completely lays into an unsuspecting Derek Morgan. “What the hell is the matter with you? Are you trying to get yourself killed? Seriously what the hell Morgan, that was stupid and reckless-” The rest of team and some of the officers from the local police department come up behind the two, watching the scene ahead of them with weary eyes.

“Hotch I-” Derek tries to defend himself when Aaron finishes his sentence. “-which of course is to be expected from you.” Aaron regrets the words before they even finish leaving his mouth, but does his best not to show it. 

Derek, who is still on the ground clutching his right arm, stares back at Aaron, fury evident in his gaze. “Derek.” Was Rossi’s only warning, and Derek takes in the Police Chief and her officers, trying to do their job, while obviously listening and he looks at his own team members’ faces, who display those of shock. Instead of going off like he’d been about to, he gives Aaron a long stare, before clenching his jaw and picking himself up off the ground, ignoring Reid’s awaiting hand, and he walks past all of them, eyes full of fury.

Aaron notices the blood spilling out of Derek’s arm and goes to say something, when Derek stops at a bush, and holds his arms out, where a little girl is clutching her baby doll. “Let’s go find Mommy, huh?” Derek asks her, lifting the girl into his arms. Then he walks past the group once more, anger still present, but hidden for the little girl’s benefit.

As he walks with the girl, keeping her on the left side so she doesn’t notice the blood spilling out of his right arm, Aaron can’t help but feel like the biggest pile of shit.


	6. In Which Derek Saves the Day...Twice

Tense was an understatement.

It’s been days since the incident, and Derek has dodged all attempts from Hotch to talk to him. Is it childish? Maybe, but Derek can’t get over the words that Aaron uttered so easily. Did he really think that the things Derek did were “reckless and stupid?” 

He tried his hardest, really had, at pretending the words didn’t affect him, but he was just lying to himself and that wouldn’t do anything. He’d like to think the scenario went as planned. Sure he didn’t plan on getting shot, but he also wasn’t going to let the little girl be taken as leverage. 

Many things happened when Derek was nearing that corner. Of course he’d known the shooter was there, it’s the same thing Derek would do and this guy was smart. He also saw in the distance, a mother crying hysterically, whilst her husband (he assumed) held her with one arm around her and the other holding a phone that he was speaking animatedly in. He was coming up on the corner now. He noticed movement by the bushes, and saw a small girl, who resembled the crying lady on the verge of tears, and he had only seconds to calculate his next move. He quickly brought his index finger in a “shh” motion, then hearing how close Hotch was behind him, he leaps out in the clearing, taking a bullet to his right arm, and hearing Hotch fire his weapon.

For a moment all Derek can feel is the stinging pain in his right arm, then he looks up and notices Hotch giving him his usual glare, that Derek realizes is usually reserved for Unsubs, which makes Derek realize that Aaron is pissed.

The moment the words “expected of you” came out of Aaron’s mouth Derek’s entire body went rigid. He hated that. So much. Carl Buford used to tell him about all the things that were to be expected of him before taking him somewhere secluded and molesting him. He claimed that he was teaching Derek how to be a man, and that later in life he’d be expected to “perform well.” Were his words, those disgusting words.

Derek had honestly had it with Aaron being an asshole for no apparent reason, and he was ready to give back as well as he was receiving. However, a quick inventory of where he was, who he was, and a warning from David made him keep his mouth closed, clenching his jaw to keep him from giving the foul words that Aaron so desperately needed to be told.

Instead, he picked himself up, shifted his arm a little, and headed to the reason he put himself in danger in the first place.

After confirming that the little girl did live in this area, and that she wasn’t hurt, he took her to where he’d seen the distressed couple earlier, the little girl, Anna, pointing the entire way. He came upon the nice house, and went up and knocked on the door. No answer. He decides to walk around the house where he notices the woman on the ground shaking, her husband trying to console her, telling her that they have to keep looking for their daughter.

“Excuse m-”  
“MOMMY!” The couple’s heads snap up simultaneously, and the lady is up and on her feet before Derek can even blink. He walks toward them, holding a squirming Anna who is trying to jump out of his arms. He eventually puts her down and she runs the rest of the way into her mother’s awaiting arms, and Derek smiles at the small family reunion that he was able to provide, thankful the situation didn’t turn out another way.

After speaking with the family for a long moment he decides to go. “I’m really glad I was able to return this sweet girl to you today. You take care of your folks you hear me?” He says, kneeling down to Anna and ruffling her hair. She grins at him, and he stands up and heads back to their front yard where he notices a familiar black SUV waiting for him. Who the driver is he has no clue.

He’s almost at the passenger door when he hears a “WAIT!” and he turns around and notices little Anna running to him. “You dropped this.” She says, and in her tiny hands is the small cross chain he’d received from his father all those years ago. “Actually, why don’t you keep this, huh?” He says, and puts it over her head, and she wraps her tiny arms around his neck. 

“Alright Kiddo, it’s time for me to go. You be good for me okay?” He asks, and she nods really quickly before turning and running to where her parents are watching from the front porch. He gives them a quick wave before opening the passenger door and when he turns he comes face to face with none other than, David Rossi.

“Sweet kid.” He says, waiting for Derek to buckle up before driving off.  
“Yeah, she really is.” Derek says, and that’s it.

Rossi drives them back to the police department where he gets out, and Derek gets his things before hopping back into the SUV alone and driving himself to the nearest hospital to get his arm wrapped up.

The big office seemed to be stuffy and crowded whenever Agents Hotchner and Morgan were in the same vicinity, which made for very awkward interactions between the entire team.

“You and Derek need to settle this whatever you have going on Hotch. You guys are ruining the team dynamic.” Rossi says, walking into his office Thursday evening, unannounced. Aaron quirks an eyebrow. “I’ve tried but the man clearly does not want to talk to me. I was thinking of summon-” Aaron starts but Rossi cuts him off. “No, that’s the worst possible thing you could do in this situation. You’re his boss, and you’re basically ordering him to talk to you which he clearly does not want to do, and that will make him about 100 times more pissed off, so come up with a different plan Aaron. And do it soon, this building is way too small for both of your egos.” With that, he’s gone.

Friday morning, by some miracle Aaron finally gets the opportunity to speak to Derek, one that even Derek would never pass up.

Young Jack Hotchner runs into his Daddy’s office, bringing quick smiles to everyone he passed. He’s on his way to his Daddy’s office when he runs into none other than Derek Morgan. “Oof, UNCLE DEREK!” Jack says, his small bump forgotten as he sees one of his biggest real life heroes. “Hey Bud, what are you up to?” Derek says, setting down the files he’d been about to leave in the small folder on Hotch’s door instead of actually going in. “I’m here to surprise Daddy, shhh.” Only then does Derek notice Jessica and Penelope wheeling in a big cake with ‘Happy HotchDay’ on it in red icing.

He’d completely forgotten it was Aaron’s birthday today.

After some begging from Garcia, and an absolutely adorable pouty face from Jack, Derek is forced to be the one to get Hotch out of his office.

So much for leaving the papers in the little slot. Now he actually has to interact with the man who strangely makes his heart race, in good and bad ways.

All the lights in the bullpen go off, and with Aaron’s blinds closed he’s completely oblivious to the whole ordeal outside his door.

Derek knocks on the door. “Come in.”

He opens the door and steps in slowly, making a show of looking like he wanted to be anywhere else but here. “De- Morgan? What can I do for you?” Aaron asks, dropping whatever he was working on, and giving Derek his full attention. “I just came to turn these in, and also to ask whether or not I could take the day off because it seems everybody else has.” Derek replies easily, laying the manila folders on Hotch’s desk, and internally cackling at the look of utter confusion on his boss’ face.

“Derek what the hell are you talking about?” Aaron asks, coming to his feet and going over to the door where he looks out and notices it being pitch black.

“What the hell?” He asks himself, before walking past Derek and out into the bullpen, where he finds no one in sight. He goes to turn on the lights, but Derek beats him to it, causing Aaron to give him a ‘what the hell are you doing?’ face, and he just shrugs before looking behind Aaron’s head. 

He turns to hear a big “SURPRISE!” and sees his entire office wearing festive hats, and he smiles at seeing all his friends with big goofy smiles, and his son in the center hiding behind the cake. Aaron doesn’t usually like things like this, but he’s quite pleased with the way this turned out. Until he turns around and notices Derek is gone, and his smile drops just a little.

He’s going to fix this tonight. He knows just the way to do it as well.

* * *  
Jack Hotchner is quite the master manipulator.

That’s how Morgan finds himself at the all to familiar house that belongs to none other than Aaron Hotchner. He doesn’t even have to knock, he still has a key. That Jack, God he could be the military’s secret weapon, They send him in whenever they want the enemy to surrender or negotiate and it’s done. After mentioning a birthday dinner for his father, and mentioning a special food that Derek only makes for Jack, he was forced to go home and start making the pastry, and despite their problems, Derek realized he needed to get Aaron a gift. After a few quick phone calls, Derek has scored two tickets for a NFL game of Aaron’s favorite team, The New England Patriots. Derek grimaces just thinking about the dreadful team.

Derek places the peach cobbler in the oven and sets the time before debating on showering or not. The jingling of keys makes his decision for him, and he rushes to the shower, confident that Spencer won’t let the house burn down while he’s in the shower. After 10 minutes, Derek is out, and by the time he’s done getting ready he has about 5 minutes left on the timer. 

He walks out of his room and notices Spencer struggling with his tie and is about to assist him when he notices, Spencer is wearing a tie. That goes along with a suit. Derek glances at his jeans and T-shirt and back at Reid’s suit and tie and groans. “So what you’re saying is that I have to change?” He asks Reid, who shrugs. “I haven’t said a word, only that we’re most likely going out for “grown up” things after Jack goes to sleep.” Reid says before finally getting his tie rights and turning for the stairs.

“Hey will yo-”  
“Already on it, hurry up before it gets cold Morgan.” Reid says while walking down the stairs and Derek turns back into his room to put on more formal attire. He chooses a dark red dress shirt to put on, before putting on black slacks, and a black suit jacket, before adding his gold watch and slipping on some black loafers, deciding that’s all he felt for tonight. He didn’t even button his shirt all the way up, that’s how unimpressed he was. Derek rarely ever wore suits, but due to his last promotion, had been required to invest in several more than he’d prefer. Suits made him feel caged in, somewhat and he avoided wearing them at all costs. After tucking in his shirt and opting out of a tie, Derek grabs his phone and heads out the door, and once he reaches downstairs he notices Reid has already left, but he did leave the Peach Cobbler on the counter. After packing up the Cobbler and locking the house Derek gets into his car, making one stop to get the tickets before heading to Hotch’s place.

He arrives at the HotchHouse, as Emily calls it, and finds it locked, unsurprisingly. Despite it being a special event, Hotch wasn’t the one to take any chances. Derek wonders whether or not he should knock. He has a key, why not use it? He shifts the cobbler into one hand, and takes out his keys with the others, slipping the key into it’s designated hole. 

Once he steps into the house he’s exposed to utter chaos.

Everyone is circled around the birthday cake that is on the floor. Jack and Penelope (yes, grown woman Penelope) are crying, J.J. and Spencer are rushing to get things to clean up the mess, Emily is apologizing to Hotch, who is trying to console Jack, while Rossi watches the whole scene with tired eyes. “How are we going to have a birthday dinner without cake?” Penelope says, getting herself together. “I could go run and get another one?” Rossi offers, and Hotch starts to protest when Derek clears his throat.

14 pairs of eyes shoot up at him. He waves the big casserole pan in his hand.

Cheering could be heard all down the block.


	7. Meeting Beth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright so I noticed a little mistake in the story. It has been weeks since Aaron basically kicked Derek out of the house after he saw him sucking face with some chick, and in the story I think I wrote it as days so just know that it's actually been a couple weeks since the incident, and only days since the bigger incident involving the little girl and Hotch going off on Morgan. Okay and sorry for the late update, ACT Testing this week, but enjoy this chapter and I don't know, expect one tomorrow.

Aaron forgot that he’d invited her.

After Morgan’s Peach Cobbler saved the chaos that was his birthday party, they sat and ate and played games with Jack. It was times like these that he really appreciated the team he had, and wouldn’t swap any of them for the world. Despite Morgan’s presence there, he knew they still had issues in need of solving.

“Morgan.” Aaron says, and Derek, knowing instantly who it is continues coloring with Jack. After one last stroke of his crayon he looks up. “Yeah?” He asks, grinning at Jack who holds the picture up and runs to show it to the rest of the team. “May I have a word?” Aaron says, getting onto his feet and heading into the hallway away from the team. “Sure.” Derek was back to one syllable words, and he was completely stoic. 

Rossi looks up as Derek disappears into the hallway and clears his throat, ready to give the two all the time needed as he distracts the team with one of his old stories about wife #2.

Aaron clears his throat awkwardly as Derek made his way into the long hallway. “Before I say anything else, I want to apologize Derek. I can’t make any excuses by saying I didn’t think because I did think, and it was my full intent to show you how angry I was at the situation. I apologize for any humiliation or pain caused by my words. It was-”

“Stupid and Reckless. Oh don’t worry, apparently I know a lot about that.” Aaron could tell from his tone of voice that Derek wasn’t quite over the words just yet. That just makes Aaron feel like a million bags of shit, and he’s honestly on the verge of getting down on his knees and begging for Derek’s forgiveness.

Despite his best efforts, all of Aaron’s troubles showed on his face. I mean, if Derek wasn’t so good at his job he wouldn’t have caught it, but he noticed the troubled look on his boss’ face, and despite still being angry at the fact, the man did apologize, and Derek wasn’t one to hold grudges. Well he was, but not in this case. “Look, you said some words, and you did it in a pretty shitty way, but it’s over and it’s fine.” Aaron visibly relaxes. “Oh, but just for future reference, boss or not, in public or not, if you ever speak to me that way again, we’ll be having some words Aaron Hotchner.” Derek says, all seriousness and Aaron just takes it because it’s what he deserves. “So...are we good?” Aaron asks, and Derek offers him a small smile. “Yeah, I guess so.” 

With that, Derek turns on his heel and rejoins the group in the living room, leaving Aaron with a huge grin on his face.

After Derek puts Jack to sleep, yes Derek because Jack refused anyone else including his father, everyone heads into their respective vehicles and they head to a nice restaurant to have real dinner. Pizza and other snacks were provided of course for Jack’s benefit, but now it was adult time and Aaron was really in the mood for a birthday steak.  
Aaron had been telling the team about Beth, who he’d been seeing for a couple weeks now when he remembered that he’d invited her. Penelope and Jennifer share a look when he says her name, and they both turn to Derek who doesn’t seem to be paying attention to the conversation. Although upon further investigation despite being concentrated on his food, and whatever Reid is saying, Jennifer notices his body is angled towards Aaron meaning he is in fact listening to every word coming out of their boss’ mouth, and she has a hard time figuring out how Derek feels about this certain topic.

Aaron glances up, and then he’s suddenly getting out of his chair, returning a couple moments later with a beautiful brunette woman with striking grey eyes, and two dimples that are showing proudly. Penelope rolls her eyes, and Emily and Jennifer glare at her because dammit, she had one job and had she done it correctly they wouldn’t be looking at this beautiful woman. As far as they were concerned, it was all her fault. 

Derek looks up and is shocked to see the same woman he’d seen Aaron sucking face with less than 3 weeks ago. He ignores whatever is tugging at his heart and plasters an easy smile onto his face. He doesn’t worry about any of his colleagues seeing past it because as a profiler himself, he knows what to look for, thus meaning he knows how to hide his feelings. Plus he’s perfected this smile and it works every time considering all the situations he’s used them in have never gone south.

One by one ‘Beth’ is introduced to the BAU team, and Derek stands up as she finally reaches him. “So you must be Derek Morgan then?” She asks, holding her hand out to his. He smiles and shakes it gingerly. “The one and only. What has he told you? All bad things, right?” He asks, and she smiles a little bit hesitant, something that sends off warning bells in his head immediately, however it’s shaky for a moment before a full blown smile is on her face. “Of course, the absolute worst.” He smiles, and waits for Aaron to pull out her seat, before sitting down himself. 

The rest of the night goes by pretty smoothly, Beth and the team get along nicely, which fills Aaron with relief, although a small bit of sadness for reasons he’s unsure of.

He notices Derek’s phone vibrate, and his eyes narrow as he takes in the somewhat annoyed look on Derek’s face as he responds to whoever is texting to him. Aaron however doesn’t make much of it, and goes back into his conversation, waiting for Derek to pitch in when he should but finds that Derek is still looking at his phone, only now his eyes are somewhat curious. Aaron can’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy as he notices that whoever is texting Derek, now has Derek’s attention, and despite the childishness of it, Aaron does not like to share.

His mood shifts, quite obviously and he tries to keep his feelings at bay when he notices Derek’s phone start flashing. Derek looks up and makes eye contact with Hotch, basically telling him he has to take it. “Who is it, Derek?” Aaron asks, his voice not mean, but stern enough to cut off all conversation at the table. Despite his best efforts, Derek cowers just a little bit at the sudden attention from everyone at the table. “Savannah, she-” Aaron doesn’t even let him finish. “Go on then.” Almost as if he’s shooing him. Now had Aaron intended for it to come out that way? Not at all. However as soon as he heard Savannah he knew that Derek would go to her anyways. He always does. 

Derek doesn’t hide the pain on his face, and Aaron’s face falls as he takes it in. However as quick as it was there, it’s gone in a flash and no emotion is present at all on Derek Morgan’s face. “Yeah, I probably should. Beth it was nice meeting you, Happy Birthday Agent Hotchner, have a good night everybody.” With a couple whispers to Reid, and the nod of the young agent, Derek Morgan is walking away from Aaron once again.

Aaron can’t justify why he’s so pissed, which just makes him even angrier, and despite it not being the truth, he just blames his anger on Derek leaving on his birthday.

Yes that’s the excuse he’s going to go with because the other one is something he’s too scared to even think about.


	8. Derek’s Dilemma

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright sorry for the long wait, we have like three weeks left of school which means it's very stressful but thank God it's the weekend so I'll give you guys a couple chapters before Monday rolls around again. I apologize in advance for this chapter, it's mainly just a filler chapter, next chapter we'll get into some things. Also we'll find out what's up with the team in the next chapter, because really my mans Derek can never catch a break.

Derek almost didn’t recognize the number. Now he figured it had something to do with where he was and who he was with because he was trained to remember important things, but seeing as how Savannah was no longer an important factor in his life, he didn’t see the reason for having her number saved. After he didn’t answer the first two calls, the texts started coming in and he opened them, figuring that she wouldn’t stop until she got an answer.

_**Kenny’s in trouble!** _  
_**Derek please pick up!** _  
_**I don’t know what to do!!!** _

Despite their messy breakup, Derek had really liked Savannah’s family, mostly her younger brother Kendrick, or Kenny as he liked to be called. Whatever bitterness he held that caused him not to pick up the phone, he got rid of it and stood up immediately, phone pressing against his ear as he called the number.

He meets Hotch’s eyes and the other man gives him a questioning look. “Who is it?” Hotch asks, looking ready to drop anything in order to help him. “Savannah.” The temperature seemed to drop at the table as everyone heard the name. Suddenly his entire team’s eyes were on him and as he goes to explain Savannah picks up. “Derek how quick can you get here? The police are trying to arrest Kenny!” Savannah says before Derek can ask, and he meets Hotch’s eyes once again, only to see anger in them, which surprises Derek. He knew his team didn’t like Savannah especially after the way things had been ended, but the way Hotch was looking it seemed as if he was angry at something else. Someone else. “Just go.” Hotch says before Derek can try to explain any further. Deciding that he didn’t have time for this, Derek says “I’m on my way” to a frantic Savannah, tries to explain to Reid the situation but doesn’t really get to because he just brushes Derek off, and Derek realizes that his entire team must be mad at him.

_If you guys are going to be like that, I can play it right back assholes._

Derek says to himself, trying to figure out how the night had come to this as he runs to his car. Less than a minute later he gets another beep on his phone with the location and realizes it’s a 15 minute drive. Turning his sirens on he makes it there in under 8.

As he pulls up to the luxurious restaurant, he looks inside and immediately sees the problem. Several police officers (white) were pointing their weapons at a trembling Kenny who was holding something small and black in his hands. At the sound of late police sirens two of the officers glance at Derek, and upon noticing his black SUV realize he’s not more backup.

As he makes his way inside the restaurant he takes account of how many people are in the building. Way too many for his liking, and so he finds a waitress who stands frozen looking at the scene, and with one eye still on the officers he tells her to clear the place. She nods quickly and tells some of her colleagues and they quickly get to work clearing the restaurant. Derek notices Savannah standing behind her brother, trembling with fear, and he also notices another female still sitting, tears spilling out of her eyes as the current situation.

“What’s the problem, officers?” Derek asks slowly moving towards Kendrick. “We asked him to drop the weapon in his hands and he refused.” One of the officers says, not taking his eyes off of Kendrick. “Why do you think there’s a weapon in his hands?” Derek asks, noticing that the youngest looking officer out of the three is starting to get fidgety, which is not good for anybody in this situation. That leads to “scared for my life” situations that honestly make Derek’s blood boil. “We got a call about a threat in the restaurant and when we walked in the door he reached into his jacket pocket.” The second officer says, looking Derek in the eyes. “Who are you, anyways?” He asks and Derek shifts more into their view, slowly blocking Kendrick who he notices is shaking in anger and fear. “I am Special Agent Derek Morgan, I work for the BAU in the FBI. I think we should calm down guys, don’t you think? I mean it’s a lovely Friday night after all, no reason to ruin it.”

The third officer, Officer Bryant as Derek reads, looks a little too pale for his own good. “Not until he drops whatever’s in his hands.” Derek glances at the fidgety officer and glares at him. “Don’t you think that if it were a weapon he would’ve fired it by now? He’s probably too scared to even move his arms from their current position because it might seem threatening, and you want him to drop what’s in his hand? I’m not going to ask again, put your weapons down now. He’s no threat.” Derek tells them, tired of the conversation and he notices all three men cower just a little at his authoritative tone.

“How do you know he’s no threat?” Asks the first officer, Officer Logan as Derek reads. “Well for starters because he was in the process of proposing before you so rudely interrupted him.” Derek says matter-of-factly.

Derek hears a small gasp behind him and figures it came from the other woman at the table. “How could you kno-” Officer 2, Officer Dennis, starts.

“Well for starters where in a pretty expensive restaurant, one that you probably need reservations for, and people tend to make reservations for big events, whether it be job promotions, anniversaries, or in his case, proposals. Notice the way he’s turned, his left leg is slightly bent, meaning he was in the process of kneeling before you came and pointed your weapons at him. He has the two most important women with him tonight, his sister and who he wants to marry, and now you’ve ruined his big moment, tainted it because when he thinks back to this moment, one of the biggest in his life no doubt, all he’ll think about is the terror that you put into his heart just because he was a young black man, in a too expensive restaurant, digging into his pockets. Now put your fucking weapons down.” Everyone could hear the anger in Derek’s voice, hell Derek could taste the anger in his voice. Slowly the officers lower their weapons and bid Derek their apologies. “No not to me, to him, to them. I have to go make a phone call, when I get back I want to see their dinner paid for, and you nowhere to be found, you understand?” Officer Bryant aka Officer Fidgety looks a little pissed off at being told off, and Derek wonders if they’ll have problems in the future. He steps outside and takes a picture of their squad cars, and writes down the police station on the side. He heads back in as they’re walking out and the first two nod a head at him, respectfully, while the third one bumps into Derek as he goes past. “Sorry, Agent Morgan.” He says, after noticing the look on Derek’s face, but with no hint of apology evident in his voice.

“Mhm.” Is all the officer receives in response as Derek walks past him and towards a now sitting Kenny. Savannah tries to console him and looks up at Derek helplessly. He glances at the girl and then back at Savannah, and she nods her head quickly before saying some words to the woman and taking her off somewhere. Derek takes her seat right in front of Kendrick. “Hey man, I need you to look at me.” Derek says when Kendrick continues to look at the ground, body still trembling in anger. “Please Kenny, look at me man.”

Hearing his name pulls him out of whatever state he’s in, and when he looks up at Derek, the older man’s heart breaks just a little.

_Fuck._

Kenny’s face was streaked with tears, his eyes bloodshot, and he looked so broken, Derek was at a loss for words. “Come here, Ken.” Derek says, before standing and pulling the young man out of the seat, wrapping him in his arms, letting him shed his angry tears. “Why the fuck they have to do me like that, Derek? I jus- I wasn’t even do- FUCK!” Kenny says, anger and fear laced in his voice. “Hey it’s fine now, calm down before you have a panic attack. I know, I know it hurts right now, and you’re confused but you need to take a deep breath before you pass out.” He sits him back in the seat and he and Kenny just sit there for a moment, as Kenny’s breathing slows down and he calms down a little, the pain in his eyes though still very evident.

“Is this what the world has come to?” He asks after what seems like hours of silence. Derek sits up a little straighter as he thinks of the conversation he’s about to have. “This is what the world’s always been like, Ken. I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” Kendrick nods, taking in every word that Morgan says. “I just never thought it would happen to me, y’know? I steer clear of drugs, and thugs, I don’t do anything wrong to avoid situations just like this one. Why did this happen to me Derek?” His voice cracks as he asks the last situation and Derek sighs, hating that this will haunt Kendrick for a very long time.

“You were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. It doesn’t matter how good of a samaritan you are, in this world, more specifically this _country_ , the color of your skin defines you. They don’t care that you were your class valedictorian, that you volunteer at the local orphanage, they’ve seen us as the enemy since they first brought us over here, The only way you can get through this is by realizing that it’s going to keep happening, to a hundred other young boys, whose only “crime” is the color of their, and figure out whether or not you’re going to adapt to it, or fight it.”

Kenny looks up at him. “You’re talking from experience, aren’t you?” Derek gives a simple nod of the head in confirmation. “I don’t ever want to feel this way again Derek.”

“So here’s what we’re going to do..”

~  
Monday morning rolls in faster than Derek wished, and when he gets into his office it’s as if conversation seems to stop, and it seems as if his entire team is ignoring him.

_What the hell did I do?_

Derek wonders as he heads to the small coffee machine where Garcia and Reid are chatting and his heart drops when they both stop their conversation, and walk away from him. He looks over to Jennifer who quickly avoids eye contact with him. “Oh fuck this!” Derek’s outburst catches the eye of everyone in the bullpen, but he ignores it, grabbing his coffee and heading to his own office, grabbing as many case files as he can on the way and then slamming the door, causing Emily to jump.

Derek didn’t come out of his office for the rest of that day. He didn’t want to be bothered, and he was tired. The past two weeks had been hell for him, and he just couldn’t handle whatever problems his team had with him at the moment.

He’s just nodding off when his desk phone rings. “Morgan.”  
“Agent Morgan, this is Karen from the first floor, sorry for the bother but I have a Captain Sauls from MPD requesting to see you.” Derek sits up quickly, realizing he’d forgotten all about his meeting with the Captain. “Oh yes, please send him right up!” Karen chuckles. “ _She’ll_ be up soon, Agent Morgan.”

Derek is not too surprised by this information but wonder how much harder this will make his situation. He opens his door for the second time that day and makes his way into the bullpen, ignoring the curious looks of his team members, and keeping his back to his boss as he reaches the front just as the elevator opens.

Derek knows he’s going to have a serious problem as soon as the woman steps out of the elevator. Her nose is all scrunched up, and from the way she’s glancing around she’d like to be any place but here. Also seeing as how she’s a woman, she’s bound to be a little more defensive about what he’s about to tell her. He knows how hard it is for female law enforcement officers, and for this woman to be the Captain of an entire police force, he knows she had to work her ass off just to get there. So yes, Derek knows he’s going to have a problem getting her to bench a couple of her officers.

He’d been pissed when he woke up, turned on the news and not even ten seconds on what happened to Kendrick was on the news. Not even 10 seconds to talk about the terrible way the police blew a situation out of proportion. Somebody had to be dead for the media to care. If Derek hadn’t gotten there in time there were several different outcomes that flashed through his head, ones in which Kendrick was either dead, in the hospital, or being arrested.

He’d called the MPD where the officers worked, and asked for a meeting with their Captain. Now, as the two stand in the middle of his working place, the eyes of his team members boring into his back, Derek was eager to get it over with. “Captain Sauls,” Derek says going over towards her. “I’m Agent Morgan, if you don’t mind coming with me too my office?” He asks, holding out his hand, and quirking an eyebrow as she ignores it. “Lead the way.” Derek offers her a small smile, but as soon as he turns it falls off his face.

_This is going to be a long day._

As he leads the woman into his office, he notices Aaron watching him out of the corner of his eyes and ignores him. Derek doesn’t know what’s going on with everyone, but he honestly wishes they would get over it because he’s tired of the runaround.

After arguing with Captain Sauls for an hour, and her refusing to suspend or atleast investigate the guilty parties, Derek is seconds away from snapping.

“Agent Morgan this conversation is over. I run my force a certain way, and if my officers drew their weapons, it was for a reason.” She says, standing up and despite his dislike he stands up with her, opening the door for her and escorting her out.

“Yeah the only reason being that he was a black man, making him the immediate suspect. That’s fine though, if you don’t want to take disciplinary actions now, it will come back to bite you in the ass later. One wrong move, Captain Sauls and I’ll have your precinct crawling with IA before you can even blink. One wrong move, and you’ll be dealing with me, I hope you understand?” He tells her, giving her a sinister smile, knowing full well that she was doing her best not to look at her feet.

“Have a good evening, Agent Morgan.” She says, disappearing out of the door that he was holding and heading towards the elevator. Derek checks the time and notices that it’s wrapping up time, so he goes to his office and grabs his suit jacket, and as he’s walking towards the elevator he notices J.J. holding out a case file. He looks between her and the case file, before groaning loudly. “Where to?” He asks, taking the file from her. “San Diego, California. We’re waiting in the conference room.” He glances at her, and to his clothes before shaking his head. “Just brief me on the plane, I have to go run an errand.”

J.J. nods and walks toward the conference room, while Derek unlocks his office door, and grabs his small duffel bag and heads out of the building, rushing to his house to get some fresh clothes.

After packing quickly, he heads to the plane, parking quickly and getting on before the rest of his team arrives.

He steals the couch, and decides to rest his eyes for a few moments until they arrive. Reid will wake him when he gets on, he knows how much Derek hates sleeping around others.

With that thought in mind, Derek dozes off into some much needed sleep.


	9. A Beautiful Nightmare

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...before you guys bite my head off, I just want to remind everyone that I am in review week before final exams next week, and despite the urgency of having to study, I took a precious day to finish this for you. Seriously it took me an entire week to write this one because I was trying to figure out just how far to take it, and where to leave it, so I hope you enjoy it, and I'll be working on this sometime soon. We still have yet to find out why the team is acting the way they are with Derek, but don't worry, it's actually going to be discussed in the next chapter that has to do with Aaron and Derek's inevitable TALK. I noticed a lot of hot and cold has been going on throughout these chapters, and I honestly hate doing that, but it is necessary for the outcome I want, so thanks to all that have stuck with me. Enjoy!

Aaron is the first one to board, while the rest of the team gathers their belongings, and he immediately goes to claim his seat with his back to the wall, where he can have a view of everyone. It’s only when he sits down that he notices Derek sleeping on the couch to his left, and Aaron smiles to himself, realizing how content Derek looks. 

He’s barely buckled in before the rest of his team starts packing onto the jet. Chatter starts up as everyone gets settled, and Aaron eyes Derek again, wondering how tired Derek must be to still be asleep with all the noise. It’s not loud on the jet, but Derek can detect anything, one of the reasons why it’s very hard to catch him off guard, or sneak up on him, and for him to still be sleeping away makes some alarms go off in Aaron’s head. He notices Reid give Derek a quick worried glance before continuing his conversation with Garcia, who is still excited about getting to come with them on one of their cases.

“Spencer?”  
At the sound of his name coming from his boss’ mouth (which is a rarity), the youngest agent looks up quickly. “Yes, Hotch?” He asks, curiosity alive and well inside of him. “How has Morgan been sleeping these last couple of days?” Aaron asks, taking his eyes off of Derek to look at Reid’s curious expression. “I-uh, well I don’t know, he hasn’t really been home lately, and if judging from how he’s looked this past week, I don’t think he’s had enough sleep in weeks.” Spencer explains, looking at a sleeping Derek, and noticing just how tired the man looks, even in his sleep. Sure he looks peaceful, but judging from the bags under his eyes, he probably hasn’t had any decent sleep in a while.

“Hm.” Is all Aaron gives in response, and Spencer goes back to his conversation with Garcia, glancing one last time at Derek before giving her his full attention. Rossi takes a seat in front of Aaron and he gives him a look. “What is it, Dave?” Aaron sighs, looking at his longtime friend. “What’s on your mind, Aaron?” Dave asks, noting the way his friend keeps looking at their colleague. 

“Nothing much, just wondering how he’s been doing. He’s seemed a little off these last couple of weeks. Quiet, closed off, tired. It’s bugging me.” Aaron says truthfully, really trying to figure out what’s wrong with his friend.

Had he been mad that Derek left for Savannah? At the time, yes. But that was over a week ago, and Aaron knew the reason for his leaving. He just didn’t know what was keeping Derek up at nights.

Also since she’s met him, every time Derek’s name comes up in conversation, Beth gives Aaron a look. One that really irritates Aaron. Like she knows something he doesn’t.

The pilot announces that they’re ready for takeoff, and realizing that Derek is still asleep, Aaron reaches over and puts the seatbelts over the younger man, ignoring the looks he gets from the rest of the team. 

Judging from the manner he is sleeping, Derek needs all the rest he can get. 

It’s maybe 2 hours into the flight before Derek stirs. 

As he’s reading the case file, Aaron notices a small mutter from his left. He looks over to where Derek is sleeping and notices that the man is still in fact sleeping, however not as peaceful as he’d been before. Aaron notices the furrowing of Derek’s brows, the slightest trickle of sweat, and Derek shaking his head in his sleep.

He’s having a nightmare.  
Aaron thinks, glancing to see if anybody else is paying attention. Nobody is.

Unsure of whether or not to wake him in fear of getting clocked or alerting the rest of the team, Aaron puts down his case file and unbuckles his seatbelt.

He’s just getting to his feet when Derek tries to sit up quickly, only to be held back by the seatbelts, and Aaron notices the panic settle into Derek’s face as he realizes that he’s being restrained.

Aaron quickly unbuckles the restraint, and Derek’s eyes shoot open. “Hotch? What I-shit.” Derek starts, chest heaving as he tries to get his breathing back to normal. 

As Derek gets his bearings, Reid looks up and Aaron notices the guilty look that crosses the young agent’s face. He narrows his eyes at him for a moment, trying to figure out what it meant, before turning back to a still somewhat panicked, Derek Morgan. “Hey you’re fine Derek, it was just a nightmare.” Aaron tells him, still squatting by the couch. Derek closes his eyes for a moment and takes a deep breath. Aaron stands from his squatting position and sits on the left side of Derek, blocking him from the others. The way the plane is set up however, Aaron is only blocking Derek from Reid, who is sitting with his back towards the cockpit, instead of facing the door like everyone else. 

“Hey what was that about?” Aaron asks, concern evident in his voice, causing Derek to look at stare at him for a moment, trying to decipher the sudden mood change. Once he realizes that the concern in his boss’ eyes is genuine, he lets out a scoff.

Aaron eyebrows shoot up at the reaction. “What was that for?” He asks, noticing the change in Derek’s demeanor, as he goes back into his usual stoicness. Derek gently brushes the hand off of his shoulder, and stands up shaking his head lightly. “Nothing man, I’m fine.” Derek says, almost laughing as he walks past Reid, who tries to say something to the other man, who in turn just ignores him.

This for some reason angers Aaron, who doesn’t understand why Derek’s laughing at him when he’s trying to be helpful. He storms past a confused Reid, and grabs onto Derek who is in the process of getting water, to take with the pills in his hands.

“Hey what the fu-”  
The rest of Derek’s profanity is lost as the restroom door closes, locking right behind them. Once the door is closed Derek wrenches his arm from Aaron’s grip. “What the hell is your problem?” Derek growls, and Aaron notices just how pissed Derek is.

His stance has changed, now he stands where his chest almost puffs out (as if he weren’t a big enough presence already), his jaw is clenched, his eyes have gone dark and his lips…

Well there’s nothing about Derek’s lips that portrays his anger, but Aaron gets distracted by them very easily, and although angry as well he just can’t fight the urge to taste them.

“Seriously, Aaron! Do you hear me? I asked what the hell is your fucki-” Derek’s profanity is once again cut off as Aaron takes two long strides, and crashes his lips onto the unsuspecting agent. Derek stills for a moment, as Aaron’s lips continue to move against his own, and it’s when Aaron bites his bottom lip gently that Derek responds. His mouth opens involuntarily, allowing Aaron his much needed access, and he pushes Derek up against the wall, arms going up on either side of his head, blocking him in. “Hotch.” Derek murmurs, however it turns into a small moan as Aaron shoves his thigh in between Derek’s legs. Derek rocks on it gently, and suddenly his tongue is pushing back against Aaron’s something furious, which is how they end up fighting for dominance, and in the end Derek getting the upper hand. 

They go like that for a while, switching back and forth into the dominant roles, not even the need for air breaks them up, no it’s the frantic knocks on the door that gets them breaking apart.

“What is it?” Aaron asks, sounding completely wrecked, and Derek would smirk if he wasn’t too busy trying to remember how to breathe. “Hotch, there’s been another murder, only this one was barely 24 miles away. You guys okay in there?” Reid’s voice rings across the small bathroom. “Alright I’ll be out in a second, Derek’s not feeling too well is all.” Aaron says, giving Derek a look.

“Alright, Derek let me know if you need anything.” Reid says, and Derek rolls his eyes.

Yeah right.

He fakes a cough though and gives a “yeah sure kid.” Aaron waits until he hears Reid’s departing footsteps before adjusting himself. Derek looks somewhere that’s not his feet but not directly at Aaron either. He doesn’t know how he’s supposed to act. 

Aaron clears his throat expectantly. Derek looks up and does his best to hide his astonishment. Somehow Aaron’s suit remains unwrinkled, and Derek has no idea how that’s even possible after such events. “What’s the story?” Aaron asks, giving one last look in the mirror before heading to the door.

“Head’s killing me, nauseous.” Aaron nods before heading out, and Derek waits another 10 minutes, after hearing his boss explain his “illness” before exiting the bathroom, ignoring all the concerned looks he gets.

“You okay?” Aaron asks, and Derek gives him a simple nod, his usual mask slipping back into place as he focuses on his job. 

They have 30 minutes until they land, and Hotch takes the time to quickly brief Derek, and split the team up. “Reid and Garcia go to the local police station to coordinate with them, J.J. and Morgan go to the new body, and Rossi, Prentiss, and I will investigate the first crime scene. Judging from the short amount of time and distance from the murders, I suspect we have a spree killer on our hands so be safe, and work diligently guys.” 

Derek hopes his sigh of relief went unnoticed as he realized that Aaron didn’t partner them together, after the little scene in the bathroom, Derek doesn’t quite know how to go forth, and knows that the talk they need to have is inevitable.

The talk might come quicker than Derek hoped, however as the hotel seemed to have miscalculated just how big their team was, and now they’re down a room,

Just his luck, in these situations it’s always the bossman who gets stuck rooming with the oddball, who in this case is Derek, who just didn’t get to the front desk quick enough.

They’re sure in for a long night.


	10. Shared Rooms, and Special Magazines

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alrighty folks! It has been a little minute since the last update, but I hope it was well worth the wait. One of the reasons it was so delayed was because of my indecisiveness, which led me to questioning on whether or not I wanted to make this chapter into two chapters, but realizing that they still had yet to talk I figured if any of you guys are as serious about reading this like I think you are, you wouldn't mind the lengthy chapter as long as you get the content you desired. Also I've finished school for like two months and a half (summer...yay) so Binge watching and writing is to be expected. I once again apologize for the long wait, and I really hope you enjoy this chapter. 
> 
> ~ Kaitlyn

It had been a very long day.

After they landed, the team split up into their separate groups and each went different directions in their government issued black Suburbans.

It took about an hour and 30 minutes to get to the most recent crime scene and when they reached their destination, they were mobbed by thousands of press, who just would not take no for an answer.

Jennifer flashed back to her liaison moments and completely took charge of the media whilst Derek went to investigate the crime scene.

The victim did not match the other two they’d seen, which confirmed Hotch’s theory that they had a spree killer to catch.

After following a couple leads and reaching dead ends, Aaron sends out a big group message telling everyone to head back to the hotel.

They all arrive witching minutes of each other. Aaron, Rossi and Prentiss arrived first, with Derek and J.J. right behind, and 5 minutes later comes Garcia and Reid

Instead of going right in, he offers to grab Jennifer and Garcia’s bags, plus his own, leaving him to go in last which is when he realizes his unlucky predicament. Aaron is standing at the main desk, talking to the receptionist in a tired voice with his usual Hotch Glare.

Derek notices Hotch pinch his nose, so before Aaron can tear the poor boy’s head off, Derek decides to step in.

“What’s the problem, Hotch?” Derek asks, apparently catching Aaron off guard as he jumps just the slightest before relaxing his shoulders at the familiar voice. “They didn’t book enough rooms.” Derek sighs. He was really aching for a bed at this particular moment. “Alright, I can go sleep in one of the Suburbans, or hell we’re in Cali which means there is another hotel like maybe 10 feet away so I’l-“

The incredulous look on Aaron’s face cuts Derek off. “Don’t be ridiculous Derek, you are clearly very tired, I’m very tired and although you’re not my children I am very responsible for my team’s well being, so stop making such a fuss, and come sleep with me.” Despite being tired, Aaron’s face still manages to get a little red after realizing his wording. “Oh I mea- uh yes, two room keys please?” Aaron asks, completely ignoring a smirking Derek. Aaron tosses Derek the keys, which he manages to catch without dropping any of the bags, before offering to take Derek’s bag to their room.

Derek reluctantly agrees, before heading to the girl’s’ designated rooms. By the time he returns to the room, Hotch is in the shower, and has claimed the bed closest to the door which Derek doesn’t find all too peculiar, as he does the same whenever he gets a hotel room. Hotch has made it so that if anyone were to try to attack them, he would be the first one they got to, instead of whoever else is present in the room. Derek checks under Hotch’s pillow, and unsurprisingly one of his guns is laid out there, safety on. Which means his boss probably has his second gun in the bathroom with him. Paranoid that he is.

“Searching for my special magazines, Derek?” Aaron asks from behind Derek, and without turning around Derek shrugs. “Just confirming a theor-“ The rest of his sentence is cut off as he turns around, finding a dripping wet Aaron Hotchner with a towel wrapped around his waist.  Derek stammers a little as he tries to find his words, however it’s hard for him to as his mouth goes dry at the sight. Aaron simply smirks at rendering the other man speechless, and simply walks past the darker man, going for his bag.

As Aaron bends over (on purpose the little shit) Derek feels his long time friend start to grow in his pants.

_There’s no reason for me to be this hard for my boss. Get a grip, Derek._

Derek thinks as he quickly makes his escape into the bathroom, still steamy from Aaron’s shower. Derek quickly turns on the cold water, hopping in quickly to relieve himself of some of the pressure pressing up against his thigh.

He takes his time in the shower, stalling so that he can get his thoughts together before what ever talk he knows that Aaron and he are going to be having soon. He gets out just before his skin can start to get all crinkly. He’d been hoping for Aaron to be sleep when he got out, but of course that was asking too much.  The man in question was sitting in bed with a case file, with no shirt and boxers and Derek’s eyes almost pop out of his skull at the sight. He was hoping that his boss wouldn’t be half fucking naked when he got out of the shower. “Do you enjoy taking cold showers, Agent Morgan?” The Unit Chief questions without even looking up, humor laced in his tone. “Only when absolutely necessary, Agent Hotchner.”

This does cause the older agent to look up from his work, a mischievous glint in his eyes. “Is that so? May I ask what caused this necessary measure?” He asks, closing the file and crossing his arms across his broad chest.

Derek shrugs simply, watching as Aaron slowly looks his glistening body up and down. He notices the other man’s cheeks redden slightly and Aaron clears his throat, causing Derek to wonder just what’s going on in that head of his boss’.

He heads to his bed, grabbing some of his lotion from his bag as he goes, before sitting with his back to Aaron whilst he lotions his legs, towel still wrapped tightly around his waist. “I just got some inspiration from your “special magazines” is all.” Derek says with a small grin, hearing the sharp intake of breath from the other man as he decides to use his own game against him, and unwraps the towel around his waist, throwing it on the couch to the side.

Aaron is quiet for a moment after that, and Derek makes quick work lotioning his body. He’s at his second attempt of reaching his back when he hears the creak of Aaron’s bed as he gets up, making his way towards Derek who goes completely still, quiet and anticipating.  “Why don’t you let me?” Aaron’s voice fans across Derek’s ear as he asks the question, voice low and husky, sending chills up Derek’s spine. Without waiting for a reply, the older man reaches around Derek, taking the bottle of cocoa butter, and pouring some into his hand before slowly, applying it to young Derek Morgan’s back.

Derek holds back a groan as Aaron’s skilled hands massage his back slowly, working the lotion in, and the tension out. “God you’re so tense. Don’t worry though, I know a couple ways to get rid of tension.” Derek can hear the unsaid promise loud and clear and sighs in sheer satisfaction at the thought, all the cold shower’s work undone as he feels the blood rush down to his lower region.

Aaron makes the situation worse by sliding his hands down over Derek’s chest, caressing his pecs. He takes a nipple in between two fingers and squeezes, causing Derek to let out a small moan at the painful pleasure. Aaron continues like that, massaging his chest, caressing his pecs, until he suddenly flicks one of Derek’s nipples, which Derek throws his head back at from the amount of pleasure that gave him.

Derek’s head is thrown back against Aaron’s chest, giving the other man full access to his neck, which Aaron takes full advantage of. The older man immediately latches on to the younger man’s neck, kissing, licking and nipping everywhere he can. He notices Derek’s hands twitch, before they fall back to his side, and as he continues to execute his attack on the other man’s neck, Aaron realizes what Derek was aching to do.

As he continues his assault on Derek’s neck, his hands slide down to the boxers Derek slid on before he began putting on lotion, and he teases Derek, rubbing him through the silk of his boxers, causing Derek to jerk quickly in his hands. “Come on Aaron, don’t tease me.” Derek groans, his head still thrown back against his boss’ chest and his breathing comes out slower and heavier as Hotch’s fingertips dance along his tip.

“Me?” Hotch’s feigns innocence. “Why I would never do such a thing.”

Whatever witty retort Derek was going to say, turned into a moan as Aaron’s hands finally reached into Derek’s boxers, playing with the dripping head. “This excited for Lil old me? I’m flattered Derek, really but,” Aaron removes his hands on the younger man’s cock, gently lifting Derek’s head off his chest as he rises to his feet. “- atleast buy a guy a drink first, yeah?”

With that he returns to his own bed, doing his best to hide his very noticeable erection, from a very sexually frustrated Agent Derek Morgan. He hears the frustrated sighs coming from Derek and smiles a little to himself as he puts his back to the other man, and turns off his lamp.

After a few moments, he hears his roomate head into the bathroom, and he hears the shower turn on. With a smirk on his face he closes his eyes, and does his best to sleep.

 

* * *

When Aaron awakens later that morning, he notices Derek is already gone, and a small note is left for the older man.

 

_‘Got another body. Rossi and I are checking it out, and by the time you read this the rest of the team should wake up so give me a call.’_

Wiping the sleep out of his eyes, Aaron sits up on the bed, and retrieves his phone, pushing #3 on speed dial. “Morgan.” Derek picks up after the first ring, and Aaron hears Rossi in the background. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I wouldn’t have minded.” Are his first words, and he hears Derek’s intake of breath. “Well I tried, but seeing as you didn’t stir at all when I was getting ready and nearly lost my leg to a coffee table, or when I almost fell into the door, I figured you were having much needed sleep. Plus if I was to shake you awake, there’s a 100% chance that I would’ve been shot.” Aaron can _hear_ the smile on Derek’s face as he speaks. “Alright, well what do you got?” Aaron says as he stands and prepares himself for another long day.

 

After getting himself dressed, he calls his team to brief them, and together they track down leads, and work as quickly as they can to prevent more murders.

 

The Unsub has been snatching random people from malls all over the San Diego area, keeping them for 3 hours max before murdering them. With  only 24 hours between his last kill, the BAU is running out of time.

 

“Hotch I think I got something.” Reid says suddenly as the team sits in the SDPD conference room, going over notes with each other. “I was looking through the crime scenes and noticed they all had one factor. They’re all owned by the same company. Could it be possible that our Unsub is some big CEO or manager?” Reid asks, and as they’re going through the evidence, they put together a preliminary profile, distributing it to the officers.

 

Derek offers to go for a food run, and returns 15 minutes later with bags and drinks, somehow managing not to drop any of them, with no help opening any door. After passing out the food, he demands that they all take a quick break to eat their food while he looks over all the stuff they accomplished when he was gone, muttering something about “fresh eyes.”

As the team chatters and eats together, Derek makes quick work of working through everything his team developed when he was away, and despite the short amount of time, they’re a lot closer to finding this guy than they were when he left. He narrows it down to 4 guys, and by the time they’re finished eating, Derek eliminates two of them, and off the team goes to interview both.

One is the CEO of the entire company, and the other is the manager of all the companies. Derek, Prentiss, and Rossi head to the manager, while J.J., Hotch, and Reid go check out the CEO.

 

After calling ahead to the job he was scheduled to be at today, and finding out that he’d left early, Derek reroutes them to his home, updating Hotch on the way. When they reach the suspect’s home, Derek’s gut instantly tells him that something is very wrong. “Prentiss and Rossi take the front, I’m going round back…” Derek says, as he unholsters his weapon.

He hears Rossi and Prentiss breach the front door, and hears shots fired, and as he’s running to help, he hears panicked screams coming from his right. He glances at the house, and to the shed which he’s named as the location that the sounds came from. He glances into the window, accepting the small thumbs up from Prentiss, apprehending the Unsub, before sprinting the short distance to the busted up shed. Upon finding it locked, he kicks it down, coming face to face with 4 girls, all with different features, races, and ages. “Hey girls, I’m Agent Morgan. I’m going to get you girls out of here, is that alright?” He asks, his tone going soft as he notices the fragile state he’s in. The older ones don’t seem to be as trusting, so he looks to the youngest girl first, probably no older than 10. “Would you like to go home, sweetheart?” He asks, holstering his gun before holding out his hands, and smiling down at the little girl whose dark brown eyes are watering quickly. She nods her head quickly, and takes his hand, latching onto his neck before he can react. He takes the hint and bends to pick up the frightened girl, gesturing for Emily to come into the shed, as he walks out with the girls.

 

As he’s making his way to the Suburban, young girl in his arms, he notices Rossi coming out with their murderer, making sure to block the girl’s sight of him, and vice versa. That bastard is never going to hurt another little girl if Derek Morgan has anything to do with it. He hears sirens, and when he reaches the Suburban, the rest of his team, plus squad cars and ambulances are pulling up to the scene.

 

Hotch is the first one out of the car, and he rushes over to Derek, eyes searching for any injuries. “Derek-” Aaron starts, and Derek tries not to show his surprise at his boss’ concern. “I’m fine Hotch, we need to get her checked out, and there are three other scared girls who need to get checked out as well. Let’s get them home, Hotch.” Derek tells him, and Aaron nods stepping out of his way before heading to the shed.

**~ 2 Hours Later ~**

Derek smiles as the youngest, Natasha, is reunited with her parents. Today was a success for the BAU. Four girls were able to go home, 8 parents able to see their children again. Since it was late, the team was going to stay at the hotel another night before flying out in the morning.

 

Which meant another night of sharing a room with Aaron. Derek groans, they still hadn’t had a talk yet, and if Aaron wasn’t going to talk, Derek was going to make him listen. After packing up the conference room at the police department, the team decides to eat out, for the job well done. So they return to their respective rooms and get ready for the night ahead. When Derek gets out of the bathroom, Aaron is already in his suit, however this time he leaves the top three buttons, unbuttoned, and wears his tie undone around his shoulders, and Derek swears he feels a little drool starts to form at his lips. In hopes of not having another scene like from the night before, Derek turns his back to the man before starting what was well awaited.

 

“So I’m just going to talk and I need you to listen because there’s something that I’ve wanted to get off my chest for awhile now, can you do that?” Derek asks, glancing over his shoulders at Aaron who is grabbing his watch, and nods at Derek.

 

“First, I want to know what’s been going on these past couple of weeks since your birthday. It’s like we made up, then when took a huge leap back, which led to me being almost shunned from the team and yourself. Spencer, my supposed best friend and roommate has barely spoken to me in weeks and I don’t know why. I want to know why every person who I’m supposed to trust with my life, have all decided that I’m not even worth checking up on. Why you guys are treating me as if I kicked a baby. What did I do that pissed you people off, and better yet, why are none of you adult enough to come and discuss it with me?” Derek says doing his best to keep his anger out of his voice as he finishes with the lotion, and slides on his socks.

 

Aaron is shocked. He hadn’t noticed the way the team acted around Derek, and only as thinks about it does he think of all the times Derek had, just as he’d said, been shunned. Hotch can remember multiple occasions after a case where the entire team went to their favorite bar, or restaurant and one Derek Morgan was never present. Now Aaron realizes that the man hadn’t been invited. He remembers sitting in his office and noticing Derek talk to that woman, and himself feeling pissed for some reason, but also Prentiss and Reid rolling their eyes at Derek, in the not so friendly way they always do.

 

There had been many more instances that came to mind, but Aaron got the point that Derek was trying to point out. Derek hadn’t felt welcome with his own team, and that made Aaron feel like the biggest piece of shit for not realizing it. “Derek I don’t know what to say. I hadn’t realized you felt this way, why didn’t you say something?” Aaron asks, watching as Derek slides his trousers on. Derek simply scoffs. “As if any of you would listen. I decided since we’d come to some conclusion to treat Derek like shit, I was going to play the same game, and be the biggest asshole I could. Since, you know, we’re apparently children who like to play petty games with our problems instead of talking about them like the adults we are.” This time Aaron could hear the anger in the younger man’s voice, and also noticed something else laced within it. After listening to Derek recap all the different ways that his team, the people who were supposed to have his back and basically his family, has just thrown him aside, and Aaron noticed the pain and sadness in the man’s voice.

 

“Secondly, what the fuck is this,” Derek gestures between himself and Aaron. “that we have going on here? What do you want Hotch, huh?” Derek asks, standing to his full height after getting his dress shoes on, and has moved onto slipping on his maroon dress shirt. Aaron just stands there, thinking for a long while. “Have you gone deaf?” Derek’s snark is not missed. “I said, what do you want, Aaron?” Derek asks again, turning to face the older man, finishing his last button as he does. This time, Aaron has his answer.

"You."


	11. California Living...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry it's been like a decade since I've updated but life has been hectic what with physical therapy and house hunting. Never fear, ANOTHER CHAPTER IS HERE! I'm honestly totally unsure of whether or not this chapter is as good as it can be, but I'll leave that up to you guys to decide, but from now on it will be pretty smooth sailing, no more back and forth, whiplash, it's going to be very very chill, but the drama will still be there you guys. I hope you enjoy this chapter, truly! As always thank you for being here, and happy reading!
> 
> ~ Kaitlyn

“Come again?” Derek asks, not quite positive he heard correctly. Aaron sighs before standing to his full height and stalking towards the younger man, whose disbelief is evident on his face, “I said, I want you.” With that Aaron closes the distance between the two very quickly, and before Derek has the chance to process what Aaron said, the man himself was up close and personal, pulling Derek’s face to his own in a smoldering kiss. Derek instantly responds, bringing his hands up to caress Aaron’s waist, gasping as the older man bites his bottom lip, causing Derek to open up, allowing Aaron to slip his tongue into the younger man’s mouth. Derek groans as Aaron’s tongue caresses his own, sending a million tingles up and down his spine. Aaron tilts his head, to make the kiss deeper, and suddenly the need for air makes Derek come to his senses.

He pushes Aaron away gently, gasping for air as he does and he notices Aaron’s concerned expression. “I’m sor-” Aaron starts, and Derek notices Aaron’s mask start to slip back on. “That was amazing Aaron, you didn’t do anything wrong. Someone was getting a little excited is all.” Derek explains, and with a quick glance down Aaron understands quickly. “Uh right, umm why don’t you finish getting ready, and I’ll head downstairs with the team, huh?” Aaron asks, and Derek simply nods before heading out of the room. As soon as the door is closed he heads to the elevator and sends a quick message to everybody excluding Derek to meet him in the lobby.

When he gets to the lobby everybody is there, and as soon as they notice the look on his face they’re on alert. “What’s wrong, Hotch?” Rossi asks. “Yeah, where’s Derek?” Emily asks, looking behind Hotch to see. “We don’t have long, he’s on his way down, but we need to have a talk.” Before they can ask anymore, the elevator dings, and out walks Derek, fixing his tie as he nears. Aaron shoots them all a look before he plasters on a smile and says, “let’s eat.”

With that, they split into two groups, three in one car and four in the other. Derek ends up driving with all of the girls, and Hotch drives with Reid and Rossi. They end up at a famous Mexican restaurant, which is seemingly very packed. The women all start talking at once as they pull through the valet, and notice the red carpet leading into the restaurant. It must be a California thing because that was the 10th red carpet Derek had seen, and they’d only driven for 30 minutes. He passes the keys to the valet, with a reminder that it is a federal vehicle and that he’ll be held accountable for any damage to it. After climbing out, Derek quickly makes his way to the other side to open the door for all three ladies, all of whom sat in the backseat. Out first comes Garcia, taking Derek’s hand as he helps her down, then it’s J.J. and they head over to Reid who hooks arms with the both of them and starts heading up the carpet. He chuckles at their behavior, before helping Emily who uses his shoulder to jump down, insisting that she could do it herself. She then heads over to Rossi, who holds out his arm and together they head up the red carpet as well. As he closes the door, he pats the Suburban twice before heading to the red carpet, Hotch heading up behind him. He slows to allow Hotch to catch up before they begin walking again. When Derek looks up he notices the whole team looking at him and Hotch. “What?” He asks, to which they all collectively roll their eyes at the same time. Hotch looks up as well, noticing their gaze. Garcia all but swears as she gestures to the entire team’s arms being hooked together.

Derek sends her an incredulous look, meanwhile, Hotch watches with amused eyes. Garcia starts to glare at Derek but he refuses. “Shall we?” Aaron finally asks, holding his arm out. Derek glances at the arm, before looking back at Aaron, at the arm, and then at the team. He all but sighs. “I suppose we shall.” With that, he hooks his arm with Aaron’s and together they make their way to their team, who is blocking the door for other patrons that would like to enter. When the two finally make it to the door, J.J. and Garcia clap. “Aww thanks for finally joining us,” Emily says, causing both Derek and Aaron to glare at her. She puts her hands up in surrender. “You guys are such children,” Derek grumbles, before going to the door and holding it open. “You got that right,” Aaron says, and the two men laugh together while the rest of their team scowls. Even Rossi which throws Derek off. The ladies head in first, and as he’s disappearing through the door, Rossi calls out, “Whatever Mom,” he says glancing at Aaron. “Dad.” He says winking at Derek before walking into the door. Aaron’s jaw drops, while Derek simply gestures for him to go in and chuckles at the shocked look on his boss’ face.

The restaurant was indeed packed, and it took Derek and Aaron flashing their badges and explaining very carefully their situation (they just finished a long tiring case and heard this was the best place to eat) to the very pretty hostess and suddenly a table large enough for their team was available. As they all take their seats, comfortable chatter starts between the close-knit team and Derek notices that even though they’d all put up a front outside, none of them were making an effort to include him in conversation besides J.J., Aaron, and Dave. He can’t help but feel a little hurt at the people he’s closest to on his team’s actions, but excellently covers it up with a small smile at one of Dave’s stories.

Not well enough, however, as Aaron shoots him a quick concerned glance. Derek simply shrugs it off and finishes giving his order, before excusing himself to go to the bathroom. As soon as Derek is out of earshot, Aaron turns his glare onto the rest of the table. “Which one of you guys is going to explain to me just what the hell your problem is?” His question shocks the entire team as they take in the stern tone he usually only reserves for suspects. His steely gaze goes over to the three of whom he thought were Derek’s closest friends. Emily, Spencer, and Penelope look at him with wide, childlike eyes, as they realize that they’re his victims in this scolding. Emily, ever the confident, manages to stammer out, “W-What do you mean, Hotch?”

Aaron glances towards the bathroom before, back at the table. “Why have you been icing Derek out? It’s been going on for weeks now, and I didn’t even realize it until he literally told me. Something he probably wouldn’t have done if it weren’t for the fact that we’re sharing a room. So, what the hell is your problem? What did he do to you? Whatever it was, fix it, because no one on my team should ever feel like they’re not welcome, we’re family.” Even as he says it, Aaron can’t help feeling a little hypocritical as he thinks back to when he’d made Derek feel the same way. Garcia is all but trembling, Spencer looks guilty, and Emily refuses to look him in the eye. “Well?” Aaron asks, noticing just how childish they’d been as he realizes he’s using the tone he reserves for Jack when he does something wrong. “It’s just, well it seems that you two have been at odds for these last couple of weeks, and MadHotch is not very pleasant, which I guess caused us to resent the one to blame?” Emily is the first one to speak, her voice not so shaky anymore, however she’s still looking anywhere except Aaron. “Also when Mom and Dad are fighting, you’re always supposed to take Mom’s side, who is the real boss in the household-” Garcia blurts out, stopping quickly as she realizes she’s let it slip.

Sure, Dave had joked about it earlier, but as Aaron looks back at it, he wasn’t really joking. Aaron shakes his head to keep himself from being distracted and doesn’t bother hiding his disbelief that’s likely to be displayed on his face. “Do you not realize how childish you sound right now? We are two grown adults, whatever happens between us should not concern you, and it definitely should not cause you to act the way you have been. This team is a family, and for you three, his best friends, to treat him the way you have, I bet it’s tearing him up inside, yet he’s too stubborn to do anything about it. Whatever “problems,” you think we had, is absolutely none of your business, and I expect you three to clear the air with him tonight before we head back home. Is that understood?” Aaron asks, the disappointment obvious in his voice. He gets three “yes sirs” before they go back about their conversations.

There’s an obvious shift in the mood, and Derek notices it before he even reaches the table. “Sorry about that, I got a call...What’d I miss?” He asks as he realizes that all conversation has stopped. Jennifer stands abruptly, “I think I left something in the car.” Aaron stands quickly, offering to go with her, while Dave excuses himself to the bathroom. Derek quirks his eyebrow and sits down, taking in the faces of the remaining three before figuring out what was happening. “Hotch told you,” Derek says, already positive that’s what had his friends so quiet.

Spencer is the first one to break the silence. “Why didn’t you tell me? Why wouldn’t you come to me and tel- Derek we live together.” Spencer says, and Derek all but scoffs. “Yeah, come to you in our home just so you can make me feel unwelcome there too? No thanks. Why don’t you go about telling me what your problem is lately, huh?” Derek says his steely tone portraying just how pissed and hurt he was from their actions.

For the next 10 minutes, there are several apologies and explanations thrown Derek’s way as he does his best to understand why something as simple as an argument between himself and his boss, could cause three of best friends to shut him out. His gut was telling him that something else was going on, but for now, he’d take the fact that Garcia was damn near in tears as she profusely apologized. It got to the point where Derek simply wrapped her in a tight hug that got her to stop apologizing. He noticed a shared look between Emily and Reid that caused his gut to tingle some more.

Derek ignores it for the time being. He’ll look into it later, right now he was ready to eat, and was at least glad to have them talking to him again. Rossi emerges just as they all sit back down, Hotch and J.J. entering moments later. Hotch shoots Derek a questioning look, to which he receives a small genuine smile.

_Everything was fine._

The rest of the night was uneventful as the team ate and laughed together, pushing the horrors of their jobs to the back of their minds. As the night winded down, Derek found himself falling back into the familiarity of these post-case evenings. The team going out to eat or doing anything together after a tough case was so that they could relax and relieve , and get through all of the horrible things they’d seen.

They’d worked at least 5 cases in the almost month that Derek had been somewhat ‘shunned’ by them, and he was finally understanding why he wasn’t getting as much sleep as he used to. He didn’t have anybody to talk to about the things he’d seen, which meant while everyone else went out, he went home, to restless nights filled with nightmares.

With those last thoughts, he pushes the topic to the back of his head, relishing these moments with his team, that he hadn’t even realized he’d so desperately missed. As the evening comes to a close there’s a debate on who is paying. Yes, everyone had brought their money, but Aaron and Derek, the stubborn bastards, wanted to pay. Dave, by far the wealthiest of them all started to offer but was cut off with a sharp “NO,” from both men.

Dave simply chuckles, sitting back down as the debate between both men goes down. Noticing that neither of the men were going to back down, and the other four were too baffled and amused by the exchange to notice, Dave discreetly waves at the waitress, doing a writing motion and gesturing to the whole table, hoping she understood what he meant.

“I don’t give a damn that you’re the big boss man, Hotch. If I want to treat you guys, then I want to treat you guys!” Derek all but growls at Hotch as he starts to reach for his wallet. “You shouldn’t buy any of us anything, especially with the way you’ve been treated this past couple of weeks. Sit down, Derek.” Aaron says, glaring at Derek.

“Why don’t you come make me, Aaron,” Derek says, narrowing his eyes at the older man, the two refusing to look away from each other. Derek didn’t understand the problem. All he was doing was paying the bill? Everyone else was going to give this waitress the best tip of her life.

“Hey guys, we have our own mon-” Emily says, reaching into her bag, stopping only as both men turn their fierce gazes onto her. “Put the bag down,” Aaron demands, and despite his frustration with the man, she notices Derek glaring at her as well, agreeing with their boss. “Right, sorry Mom,” Emily says, holding back the laugh that is threatening to erupt as she notices the sour look on Aaron’s face.

Derek smirks. “Yeah sorry mom, but Daddy’s got the check.” The table goes quiet as they wait for Aaron’s response, which is to round the table, looking around innocently as he does as not to bring any attention on himself, before smacking the back of Derek’s head quickly, causing the table to gasp.  
Having successfully paid the bill, Dave looks up just in time to see the smack and he almost chokes on his laughter. He doesn’t know what Derek’s done to Aaron but this is the relaxed, and carefree version of Aaron that he hadn’t seen for so long. It’s the years of successful profiling that cause him to notice the way the two men interact with each other, how they’re slanted towards each other without noticing, closer than two colleagues usually should be, how even though they’re arguing, there’s no real heat behind their banter.

_If he didn’t know any better, he’d think that they were married._

Suddenly, Dave realizes what’s got Aaron acting so different lately. He’s falling in love all over again, this time with Derek and Dave chastises himself for not noticing sooner. The signs were all the same, he’d witnessed Aaron falling in love before, with Haley. Sure they’d already been together by the time Aaron and he met, but once Aaron told Dave that he fell more in love with her every single day, and Dave noticed what he’d meant. Now, all these years later, it’s happening again.

Dave smiles at the thought, glad to see that Aaron is getting the break he deserves, especially with Derek who needs a break as well. With those satisfying thoughts in mind, he clears his throat and every pair of eyes is on him. “Give this woman her tip so that we can go, yeah?” He says, fighting the urge to grin at how Derek’s jaw is inches off the ground. Aaron simply glares at a smirking Dave before reaching in his pocket and pulling out a five, the rest of the team (minus Dave) following suit, however, Derek wanting to one-up the older man throws a ten onto the stack.

He grins right in Aaron’s face, before pushing in his chair and heading to the exit, the rest of the team behind him. It’s only when everyone’s back is turned that Aaron does something completely unexpected that Dave catches in one of the mirrors hanging on the restaurant walls.

Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, Unit Chief of the Behavioral Analysis Unit of the Federal Bureau of Investigations, also a grown ass man, sticks his tongue out at the retreating back of one Derek Morgan. Rossi is so caught off guard he almost trips, which make Aaron halt his childish antics quickly as he realizes he’s been caught.

Aaron can feel his cheeks get his hot, and he clears his throat awkwardly, before fixing his tie and walking past Dave with his head held high, only waiting until he’s fully out of the door to facepalm.

Dave shakes his head before kissing the waitress on her cheek and walking out to join his team.

 **~**  
It’s very late by the time that Derek and Aaron return to their hotel room, and both are clearly tired as it takes both of them about five minutes to find either of their keys. Aaron, the least sleep drunk of the two finds his first and with a great struggle, manages to slip the card into the pocket. Once it flashes green he opens the door, and all but leaps onto his bed. Derek drunk laughs behind him, before stumbling to his bed. If anybody saw either of them they’d think that the men were intoxicated, which wasn’t the case at all. No, both men were exhausted, causing them to be sleep drunk as they fumbled to get their lives together and into their beds.

Aaron who is face down on his bed, still in his suit mumbles something to Derek who is too busy trying to take his shoes off to care. Ever had to hold your pee for a long time, and as soon as you get into the bathroom it feels as if you’re about to burst? Well, this is what it’s like for Aaron Hotchner and Derek Morgan when they are tired. They’d been functioning well the rest of the night, getting back to the hotel safely, going the extra mile and waiting until everyone was safely in their room before they even decided to walk to theirs. However the nearer they got to their room, with the knowledge that two beds were waiting for them, the sleepier they got.

Derek finally manages to get his shoes off, when he realizes that Aaron said something to him earlier. “I can’t understand your mumbling.” He says while slipping off his jacket. Aaron doesn’t respond and after waiting a minute he realizes that the man is sleep. Still in his suit, guns and all. Derek chuckles, shaking his head.

“Lightweight.” He murmurs before stopping his own task and going over to Aaron. “I heard that.” Aaron murmurs, before rolling over and allowing Derek to take his shoes off. Derek decides to use his selective hearing and finishes his task of taking the man’s shoes off. Slipping his ankle holster and gun off as he does. Aaron smiles drunkenly at that, before moving his hands to fumble with his belt. Derek sets the gun on the table to Aaron’s right, before watching in amusement as the man struggles to get his belt off.

Deciding to put him out of his misery, Derek slaps Aaron’s hands away and easily undoes the belt, but frowns as he realizes that Aaron’s suit has not a crease in sight. Derek slides Aaron’s pants off, folding them while Aaron sets to remove his dress shirt.

Which he struggles with as well, and by his second button he’s given up completely and just throws his head back against the pillow, one arm going over his eyes. Derek yawns as he takes over in undoing the buttons before pulling the shirt and suit jacket off with it as well, unsurprised to find that Aaron’s chest is right underneath, no t-shirt as a barrier.

Derek had learned long ago that Aaron doesn’t wear undershirts, sure several years of working together meant that they’d seen each other get dressed before, but even without seeing the man dress, there’s no way that Aaron would be able to fit an undershirt underneath his dress shirts, that all look ready to burst every day. Derek resists the urge to run his hands over the wide expanse of muscle that is Aaron’s chest. Derek is a very fit man, but as he’s looking down at the chiseled abs that run down into a beautiful V, he can’t help but think that if he were a lesser man he’d be jealous. Derek gives in, running his hands down Aaron’s chest, and working his way back up, thumbing at the happy trail before going up North towards the beautiful muscles that we call Abs. Aaron, half asleep sighs in content as he feels the hands doing wonders on his stomach.

Derek smiles at the sound that leaves Aaron’s mouth, and deciding he wants to hear it again, lets his fingers make their way up to the older man’s pecs. Derek places a kiss to Aaron’s jaw as he takes the right nipple in between his index and middle finger. Aaron’s back arches at the sensation and Derek smiles against his neck, placing kisses as he continues to play with Aaron’s nipples, switching back and forth between the two, and he stops his ministrations to see how Aaron’s taking it.

Aaron's head is thrown back, eyes shut tightly as he’s completely coming undone from Derek’s touch.

Derek can’t help but smile at the sight, realizing that if this is Aaron’s response to something as small as rubbing his nipples, then going forward will be completely mind-blowing.

Aaron whines a little at the lack of touch, and Derek pinches his nipple, swallowing the moan that rips from Aaron’s mouth as he does.

Derek goes back to rubbing the sensitive nub, and realizes how worked up he’s getting. With a sigh, he pecks Aaron again on the lips before rolling over and off the bed. Aaron lets out a frustrated groan as Derek retreats and starts stripping. Once he’s down to his boxers, Derek folds the suit neatly, before reaching into his duffel to grab some grey sweats. He’s climbing into his own bed when Aaron speaks.

“First thing I’m doing when we get back is breaking it off with Beth. I’m not going to be a cheater, Derek.” Aaron says and Derek nods, glad that he and Aaron were on the same page. Not going any further until there weren’t any 3rd parties was perfectly fine with him.

“I know, Aaron.” Derek says with a yawn and mumbles something that Aaron thinks was ‘good night’ before he reaches over and turns off the lamp in between the beds.

Derek is a light sleeper. It comes with the territory of his job, and from his trauma as a child. Which meant that while he was busy dreaming about car chases and exploding buildings, he could also hear Hotch moving around in his bed, a lot. That plus not being able to hear the steady breathing that people usually do when they're sleeping, Derek could tell that Aaron was restless, and was wide awake.

Which is how he finds himself at 3 AM crawling out of his bed and walking two steps to Aaron, pushing the man over and climbing into his bed. “Derek wha-“ Aaron starts but stops as he feels Derek’s arms wrap around his waist. “Go to sleep, Aaron,” Derek says into his neck, wrapping one of his long legs around Aaron’s, and pulling Aaron back into his chest. Aaron’s ready to protest when he hears Derek sigh with content, before resting his head in Aaron’s neck.

With a small smile, Aaron forces himself to relax and then has the best sleep he’s had in _years_.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't really have anything to say for this chapter other than, enjoy! 
> 
> ~ Kaitlyn

_The flight back to Quantico was a long one._

After waking up to a shifting Aaron, Derek gets himself up and ready. After he’s packed all of his things, he wakes Aaron up so that the man can get ready himself, while packing his partner’s things while he was in the bathroom.

Despite being the last ones to go to sleep, Aaron and Derek are the first two awake which leaves them in charge of getting everybody up. While Aaron knocks on doors waking everybody up, Derek is in charge of collecting their keys and grabbing their bags as the team gets up. Their system works, and just as Derek is putting in the last bag, the team is heading out to the vehicles. “Rise and shine, children,” Derek says with a bright smile. Emily groans. “Derek stop please, or I will be forced to arrest you,” Emily says, visibly wincing as her eyes adjust to the light.

Derek’s brow furrows. “On what grounds?” He asks, opening the back door for her. “I have reason to believe that your smile is illegal as it is too early for your teeth to be shining that brightly in my face.” Derek rolls his eyes before closing her door. Garcia and J.J. were already settled in.

Just as Derek is starting the engine, Reid opens the passenger door and hops in. “Ah, you’ve decided on the cool car today, huh?” Derek asks a flustered Reid. “Not necessarily, it’s just the topic of Rossi and Hotch’s conversation was making me a little uncomfortable,” Reid says, and Derek raises an eyebrow. “Oh? Just what was this topic of theirs?” Emily says, apparently not as moody as she’d been less than five minutes ago. “That’s classified,” Reid says, and the entire trip no one can get him to open his mouth.

Just what the hell were those old geezers talking about?

After arriving at the airport and heading to their jet, Derek tosses the keys to one of the officers from the SPD, who’d come to see the team off. After a brief thank you from the Chief of Police, the team board the plane and settle in for the long cross-country trip.

After making sure everyone settled in (he’s such a mom) Aaron comes and seats himself right next to Derek, causing the darker man to look up from his phone, and smile at the older man. “Why don’t you get some rest, I know you didn’t get much sleep last night,” Aaron says to Derek and the younger man can’t hold back the relief that floods him at the permission to sleep. Also the fact that Aaron noticed. Derek was willing to stay up the entire 5 hour flight with Aaron just so the man wouldn’t torture himself with his thoughts.

“You sure?”  
Aaron smiles at the faked reluctance coming from his partner. “Positive, get some shut eye.” Despite the smile, Derek still notices the command in Aaron’s voice and not one to refuse the boss, nods his head and slips his headphones on over his head.

 **~ 5 hours later ~**  
Aaron looks down at his shoulder which had been used as a pillow for the last five hours and can’t help grinning. The pilot comes over the intercom and tells them to prepare for landing. Aaron shrugs his shoulder and Derek’s eyes pop open. He looks discombobulated and when he realizes his head is still on Aaron’s shoulder he snaps his head up so quick he hits it on the plane window and Aaron can’t stop the howl of laughter that comes out instantly.  
His laughter captures the attention of the rest of the team, but that only seems to make him laugh harder, and Derek ducks his head in embarrassment as Aaron continues to cackle next to him. As his laughing continues Derek glares at the older man before making it worse when he rubs the spot on his head where he hit the window.

By now the team has somewhat put together what happened and Reid does his best to hide his own laughter. Rossi only smiles as he realizes that’s the first time he’s heard Aaron genuinely laugh in a long time, and Derek does as well because he starts to laugh with him. Soon enough the whole cabin is filled with laughter and jokes and Derek smiles at the outcome. Even though he’s worried he may just be a little concussed.

Apparently, he says that out loud because not even a second after he thinks it, Aaron throws his head back in laughter again, only this is the silent kind and his fist is over his mouth as he tries to keep his humor at bay.

As the plane lands, everyone gets off with a smile on their face, and Hotch gives them a well deserved weekend off. The team literally whoops with joy and they all take off to their respective vehicles, Derek just closing his trunk when Aaron pulls up beside him with his window rolled down.

“Come on man, a day off means a day off, please Aaron.” Derek groans thinking that another case has already rolled in. “No Derek that’s not it, besides there are many capable agents who could take care of any case if one came in. I wanted to know if it’d be okay with you to watch Jack tonight? He misses you a lot, and I don’t want him around when Beth and I have our _discussion_.” Aaron says, and Derek can’t help the smile that covers his face at the thought of seeing Jack. “Yes of course Hotch. Jack is never a problem, lead the way.” Derek says, before hopping into his red Dodge Charger, starting it quickly and following Hotch’s navy blue Chevy Tahoe, honking twice at Reid and Rossi on the way out of the airstrip.

The ride to Hotch’s house is quick, and before Derek can even fully stop the car, Jack is running out of the front door to meet his dad. Jack, however, changes course and heads to Derek once he steps out of the car, leaving his father’s arms empty. Derek catches the gobsmacked look on his boss’ face as he hunkers down to the height of the little boy running his way. “UNCLE DEREK! I MISSED YOU!” Jack yells, before leaping into Derek’s arms.

Aaron can’t help smiling at the scene, not even mad that Jack ditched him for Derek, and his heart tightens at the way his colleague smiles down at the young boy. Aaron knows without a doubt that Derek loves his little boy, probably just as much as Aaron himself does, and he can’t help but wonder how they got to this point.

When did Aaron start falling for his subordinate, his friend, and how the hell did they get here? Right now at this very moment? It’s been a little over a year since Hayley died, Aaron was positive he’d never fall in love again, then Derek Morgan had to bust his way into Aaron’s poor unsuspecting heart. Aaron winces at the thought.

_God, I'm such a sap._

For a moment Aaron just watches his son and Derek interact with each other. Little kids are very trusting but not Jack, and the way he’d jumped into Derek’s arms without a second thought as to whether the man would catch him or not, Aaron knew that Jack trusted Derek. Trust was a big thing for the BAU team. With all the long nights and the dealings with dangerous criminals, they have to trust each other with their lives. Derek Morgan is not one who trusts easily, not by a long shot. Hell, they’d been working together for almost 6 years now, and he’s only just beginning to think that Derek trusts him.

_~ Flashback ~_  
_Aaron’s eyes squint as they try to adjust to the daylight of New York City. It’d been days since the explosion, and Aaron was finally in the clear to go home, he wasn’t able to fly, however. which meant a long 3 hour drive with a very dull Agent Davis. He’s just bending to get his bag when a familiar voice makes him stop._

_“I got it, I’m your ride.” Derek Morgan says as he rounds the corner, grabbing the bag just before Hotch’s fingers can touch it. “I thought Agent Davis was driving me,” Aaron says, trying to keep his face neutral even though his head will not stop throbbing from the constant noise that is New York City. “She was. I had her reassigned.” Derek says in a tone that for others would not sound like the “duh” that Aaron was hearing._

_Aaron can’t lie, he’s happy that Derek showed up despite still being pissed at the man, but he’d prefer Derek over ‘Dull Davis’ any day. Derek doesn’t need to know that though. “Don’t you have something better to do?” Aaron asks, glancing around at all the bright lights and big buildings that he’s positive any regular day Derek Morgan would enjoy exploring. “Than to annoy you for 3 hours? Hell no.” Aaron can’t help but roll his eyes at the very Derek Morgan response that he got._

**_Of course, that’s why he volunteered._ **

_“Give me the keys.” Hotch demands, only for Derek to give him a blank look and a, “Not a chance, Hotch.” Before gesturing that the two start to walk. Aaron glares at Derek. “Let’s go.” The younger man says, swinging the duffel bag up some. Aaron sighs before starting to walk with Derek. They walk a bit before Derek decides to speak, either not noticing or choosing not to notice the pained looks that his boss is trying his best to hide. “So did we ever find out who the secret service had in the hospital?” Derek asks, giving his boss a sideways glance._

_“Does it matter?” Aaron says dismissively and Derek all but shrugs. “No, I guess it doesn’t.” With that, the two men walk together for another minute or so before Aaron decides to speak. “Quantico’s requested you transfer to run the New York Office.”_

_Internally Derek groans at the subject. He’d never wanted the stupid job, to begin with, that stupid job is what led to another victim because Kate Joyner couldn’t handle competition and wanted to prove she was the boss. Despite his dislike of the woman, he did understand why she’d been on the offensive and hates that she died the way she did. “Hotch, they haven’t even buried her yet,” Derek says, and Hotch notes the disbelief in his agent’s voice. “We’re at war. Things change.” Aaron says as they continue to walk, still not making eye contact with Morgan._

_“Don’t I need your recommendation?” Derek asks as they get to the car, and Aaron looks at him briefly before continuing towards the car. “You didn’t give it, did you?” Derek questions and he has the answer without Hotch confirming it. Aaron turns to face Derek, still not quite looking him in the eye but close enough. “Your actions, as incredibly brave as they were...would still be actions of an agent who doesn’t truly trust anyone.” Derek scoffs, as Aaron finishes his statement, looking him in the eye. “Hotch, I did it for this team,” Derek says, trying to understand why it always comes back down to him not being able to trust. “My opinion doesn’t matter. Job’s yours if you want it.” Aaron says before turning his back on Derek once more. “Hotch. Your opinion matters to me.” Derek says, refusing to do what his brain is telling him and pleading with the man to believe him._

_Aaron turns back to face the younger agent, pausing a moment before speaking. “My life matters to me, and I have and always will entrust you with it,” Derek can’t name any person on this planet who intimidates him as much as his boss because for the first time...ever, Derek is having trouble keeping eye contact. “Would you do the same for me?” Aaron asks, and finally, Derek looks away, glancing at the black federal issued Suburban then back at Aaron. “Still want to drive?” Aaron asks, and Derek barely hesitates as he looks down at the keys and unlocks the doors._

_The chirp all the answer that Aaron needs._

_~ End of Flashback ~_  
The clearing of a throat pulls Aaron out of whatever trance he’d been in, and he turns to face the door where Beth is standing. She has a smile on her face that Aaron can tell is forced, and something tells him that she’s been standing there for a while. Watching him watch Derek.

The man he _loves_.

He plasters a smile onto his face and walks over to kiss her cheek. “How was he?” Aaron asks, glancing back at Jack, who has now gotten into his signature spot on Derek’s neck. “A perfect angel, Aaron.” She says with a smile, although Aaron’s instincts start to tingle at what else is laced within her voice. He can’t quite name it yet but he will.

“Jess just finished packing his bag inside, said he was going to be staying with Derek?” Beth’s face is not showing the contempt that he hears in her voice, and Aaron can’t help becoming a little defensive. “They are close, so yes he’s going to be staying with Derek while we have ourselves a nice evening, huh?” He says, not giving her time to respond as he slips past her into his house to meet with Jessica.

As Derek is playing with Jack, he can feel Beth’s glare drilling holes into his back and he can’t help smiling a little. He turns around and grins widely, approaching the small woman. “Hello Beth, it’s very nice to see you again.” He says, looking past the fake smile she’s plastered on her face and noting the way her jaw keeps clenching. “I’m sure it is, Derek. Hey Jack, why don’t you go see what’s keeping your dad, huh?” She says, and Derek keeps the smile on his face as he lets Jack down off of his shoulders, watching as the little boy runs into his house. “Now that you’ve got me alone, what’s on your mind?” Derek says, the unsaid "cut the bullshit" playing loud and clear.

Beth keeps the smile on her face, however, her voice turns deadly. “I just wanted to let you know that I’m on to you. I know what you’re trying to do, and you’ll never have him Derek. He may think he’s in love with you but there’s no need to worry, I’ll take care of that.” She says, voice full of venom. Derek simply scoffs, the words not affecting him in the slightest. Beth notices, and instead of getting frustrated at his thick skin she simply smiles wider, which makes his skin tingle slightly. “If you say so, Beth.” He says, not giving her the satisfaction of seeing him bothered. “I do say so,” suddenly she gasps and Derek eyes her suspiciously. “It’s a really beautiful day wouldn’t you say, Derek?” She asks, looking around and Derek rolls his eyes. “Sure.” He says while looking down at his watch. What’s taking Aaron so long? “No, come on, Derek. _Look up to the sky_.” Beth says menacingly, the taunt knocking the breath out of him.

Derek’s blood freezes and he swears he can feel that man’s hands on his body all over again. His heart rate accelerates and he suddenly finds it very hard to breathe, his chest constricting painfully. “Derek, what’s wrong?” Beth asks fake concern splayed across her face as she approaches him. His legs turn to Jello and they no longer support his body as he tumbles to the ground. Beth has her hands out to him and he swats at her, trying to remember how to breathe but he can’t. _He can’t breathe._ All he can feel are the rough hands running up and down his body, the harsh whispers in his ears, the smell of Helgeson wine smothering him.

 _He’s not here. He’s not here. He’s not here._  
Derek tells himself, willing himself to breathe, he tries to calm down, looking everywhere then he makes the mistake of looking up towards the sky. “No, no NO!” Derek screams, trying to get the voice out of his head but he can’t. _I’m going to die._ Derek says in his head as he realizes he can’t catch his breath.

His body won’t stop trembling and he’s shivering, cold sweat running down his forehead as he rocks back and forth, feeling the darkness crawl up his body as he realizes he’s going to pass out. Derek is just ready to surrender himself to the darkness when a large frame clouds his vision. “Derek, it’s Aaron listen to my voice. I need you to breath-”

“I c-can’t!” Derek yells and Aaron shakes his head. “If you can talk you can breathe Morgan, now come on-” Aaron reaches out to touch Derek but jumps back as Derek winces. “Derek? It’s Jess, I need you to take a deep breath okay? You are perfectly fine, Derek. There’s nothing to be afraid of, I promise, but I need you to breathe. Breathe Derek, _breathe_.” Jess’ voice replaces Aaron’s and Derek does his best.

 _Breathe_.

Inhale. Four beats later, Exhale.  
Derek listens to Jessica’s soothing voice as she backs him away from the edge of the darkness that he was willing to succumb to only moments ago. As his breathing returns to normal Derek blinks away the black spots, taking in his surroundings. Aaron and Jess had moved him into the house, Beth long gone and Jack sitting off to the side, watching with scared eyes. Derek internally groans as he realizes his little episode scared the young boy. After making sure his breathing is back to normal, Jessica heads to the kitchen to get him a glass of water, leaving Derek in the living room with Aaron and Jack. Derek looks anywhere he can avoid Aaron’s gaze. “Uncle Derek?” Jack asks suddenly, moving closer to Derek on the couch, and look both ways Derek realizes he’s in the middle of a Hotchner sandwich, with Aaron on his left and Jack on his right. “Yes, kiddo?” Derek asks, glad to give the boy his full attention instead of his calculating father. “Are you okay?” Jack asks, peering up at Derek and instead of giving the young boy a verbal answer, Derek just holds his arms out for Jack to crawl into and hugs the boy tightly.

Jack sniffles into his shoulder and Derek pulls the young boy back to look at him. “Hey, I’m fine see? Why the tears?” Aaron watches the scene quietly, trying to process what had happened in the 5 minutes that he’d left Derek alone. “I don’t like for Uncle Derek to b-be sad.” Jack stutters, and Aaron offers him a smile. “I’m not sad anymore, kiddo. Now turn that frown upside down! We’re going to have so much fun tonight! We’ll order pizza, build a pillow fort, and watch movies! How does that sound, huh?” Jack looks to his dad for approval, and a short nod and a smile from Aaron later, he’s sporting a wide grin that makes Derek feel 100 times better.

Jessica returns with the glass of water, and Derek thanks her, taking a small sip. “Hey, Jack, why don’t you go pick some toys out to bring over, yeah?” Derek asks after he swallows, and Jack nods excitedly, grabbing Jessica’s hand and taking off in the direction of his room. Once they’re out of sight, Derek sighs and faces his boss. “What the hell happened?” Aaron demands.

There simply is no beating around the bush with Aaron Hotchner.

“I had a panic attack,” Derek says, trying to brush it off.  
“What the hell Derek? This is a big deal, why are you trying to downplay it?” Aaron asks, Derek not missing the obvious concern lacing the older man’s voice. “Because it _isn’t_ a big deal, it’s happened before and it will probably happen again.” Aaron can’t believe him. “You’ve never told me about any panic attacks, Derek! What if it had happened out in the field, what if next time Jessica isn’t around to help! We’re trained for panic attacks, yet I couldn’t do anything to help you Derek I-” Derek presses his lips against Aaron’s, effectively stopping the man’s rambling. Derek pulls back and stares at Aaron.

Aaron’s chest slows down and he nods his head at Derek. “Okay.” Derek nods and grabs one of Aaron’s hands, placing it on his heart. “I’m okay, Aaron. Really. Beth caught me off guard is all.” Derek says, and Aaron’s just beginning to calm down when he registers what Derek’s said.

“What do you mean, Beth, caught you off guard? What did she do, Derek?” Aaron questions, and because of where his hand is placed, he can feel Derek’s heart speed up. “Derek?” Aaron questions again, a frown settling on his face as realizes that Beth did something to trigger Derek’s panic attack.

“I want to say she said it on purpose, but there’s no way she could’ve known. I know that you’d never tell anybody about my _personal_ issues.” Aaron’s eyes narrow as he tries to decipher what the hell Derek is talking about, and what ex-girlfriend said.

“Derek, what did she say?” Aaron questions and Derek glances up at the worried tone that Aaron used.

With a long sigh, Derek glances up at Aaron, to look him in the eyes.

“She told me to _look up to the sky_.”


	13. Conversations and Confrontations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update! As some of you are aware (if you read these notes) I am in the process of moving and the date has gotten here a lot quicker than I'd expeted (next Friday!) and so it's been crazy. I want to blame the slow update on my procrastination. I won't write because I have to pack, but then I won't pack because I need to write. It's exhausting, and this chapter was a little hard to write because I hate reading and especially writing about desperate women, but it needed to be written for the sake of my creativity. So like always, I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> ~ Kaitlyn

 “Hotch?” Derek calls out, and Aaron blinks quickly coming back into focus. “Right sorry, I’m just having trouble wrapping my head around this.” Aaron explains, although in the back of his mind he realizes he knows exactly how this happened and he can’t help thinking that it’s his fault.

“Aaron, I know you. You would never disclose my information like that, unless…” Derek starts and Aaron’s eyes narrow. “No, Derek I would never betray your trust like that!” Aaron yells, hating how desperate he sounds, but willing to get over it if it means that Derek will believe him. The black man raises his hands in surrender. “Alright okay, I just had to ask. So, if you didn’t tell her, how does she know?” Derek asks, and Aaron hates the vulnerability that he hears in the younger man’s voice.

The million dollar question. Aaron was having trouble figuring out that tidbit himself. “I don’t know, and when I figure out there will be hell to pay, Derek. I’m so sorry that sh-"

“Aaron stop it right now. You don’t apologize for her, she’s a grown woman and she makes her own decisions. Whatever she’s done it was completely her fault, and even if you did somehow unintentionally let this slip, what she did with the information was completely up to her.”  Derek says sternly, and Aaron smiles gratefully, thankful that the man knew him well enough to stop his thoughts before they got started.

“So, what do we do now?” Aaron asks as he glances as his watch, it’s just going on 4:30. “I think you stick to the plan, I really do want to spend time with Jack, and God forgive me but I want you to break the little bitch’s heart.” Derek says and Aaron smiles, glad that Derek was still himself, despite the attack on his mental state.

“Alright, I’ll go get Jack and you can get the car ready.” Aaron says, and Derek nods getting up, briefly brushing their lips as he does, and heads out of the house with a small smile on his lips.

Aaron watches as the man who’d been almost 15 minutes ago, was now standing tall as he strode out of the house, head held high and shoulders back, displaying all the strength that Aaron knew he held.

_ He’s going to be okay. _  Aaron assured himself, pausing a moment before getting to his feet and going to grab his son.

A quick hug, and a couple ‘love you’s’ (from Jack, obviously) later, Derek and the young boy pull out of the driveway, smiling as Derek speaks to him. Aaron smiles as they pull out of the driveway, waiting until he’s positive Derek can no longer see him, before letting the small drop off his face, being instead replaced with a steel look, that softens when Jessica comes into view. “Like always, thank you for looking after Jack while I was gone.” Aaron says, hugging his sister-in-law tightly. “And like always, don’t mention it. I love seeing Jack, and sorry but I don’t entirely trust that Beth of yours around him.” Jessica says truthfully and Aaron nods. “Neither do I, honestly.” Aaron admits, and Jessica frowns. “If that’s so, why did you let her pick him up from school?” Jessica asks and Aaron’s alarm bells start ringing again. “I never told her to pick him up from school, Jess.” Aaron says, and Jessica’s eyes widen. “But she called- Oh Aaron, what’s going on?” Jessica asks, noticing the look on Aaron’s face as he processes the new information. “I don’t know yet, but something is not right with the woman. I think she’s playing at something here, but if it has anything to do with my son, she’s in for a rude awakening.” Aaron says, his tone something deadly and Jessica can’t help the fear she feels as she wonders just what the seemingly nice woman had planned for her brother and nephew.

***

Derek smiles down at Jack as the young boy crawls through the large pillow/blanket fort the two built in Derek’s living room. “How’s it looking down there J, is it safe for me to come in?” Derek asks, and Jack’s head pops out of the opening. “Come in Uncle Derek!” He exclaims happily, and shrugs as if he wasn’t that interested, before dropping to his knees and crawling into the huge fort, with foundations of carpet. “Woah, this is pretty amazing, and really comfortable too.” Derek says, laying down on a pillow and faking asleep. “Uncle Derek! Sleep is for later, you have to make the popcorn so we can watch the movies!” Jack says, and all but pushes Derek out of the fort. “Okay,  _ okay _  Jack. No need for the hurry, we have  _ all _  night.” Derek assures Jack as he gets to his feet

***

Meanwhile...

Beth taps her foot impatiently as she waits for Aaron to arrive at the restaurant that  _ he’d _  picked.  As she waits though she flashes back to earlier, when she’d said those 5 dangerous words, that caused one of the strongest men she’d ever seen to break down. She can’t help smiling victoriously.

That would teach Derek Morgan that he can’t have what is  _ hers. _

Beth does  _ not _  like to share. She grimaces at that dreadful word. What even  _ is _  sharing?

“It depends, there are multiple definitions of  _ sharing _ , but they all really come back to the same thing: it’s when you two or more people, use the same thing.” Aaron says, making Beth realize she’d asked the question out loud.

Her face burns as she realizes how stupid that probably sounded. She goes to stand but he stops her with his hand, “no, please sit.” Aaron says, as he pulls out his seat with his back to the wall. His friend knew him too well, as he sat them in a secluded corner, and had probably guided Beth to the chair facing the wall. Many would call him paranoid but it was a habit that came from his many years in the FBI.

Beth frowns a little, but sits anyways, and he does his best to keep his emotions in check. Despite how angry he was, he prided himself on how he behaved and not to let her see just how much she affected him. He’d picked this spot because he figured she’d try to make a big scene if it were at his place, and since they were in public he knew she wouldn’t.

Beth could see that Aaron was paying her no attention, and that made her anger flare up a little. She  _ hated _  when she didn’t get attention. She clears her throat and when Aaron looks at her she grins. “So, what’s the occasion?” She asks, gesturing to the busy but expensive restaurant they were seated in. “Before we get to that, I want to go back to earlier. I answered your unintentional question about sharing, but something tells me that you don’t like sharing. Why is that?” He asks, and her smile falters a little as that dreadful word comes up again.

Aaron notices the small slip and watches her, trying to figure just what was wrong with the woman. “I just don’t get the need for sharing. If it’s mine, it’s  _ mine. _  Why would I want to let someone else enjoy what’s mine?” She asks, and Aaron raises a brow at the sudden tone change in her voice. She went from sweet to deadly in a second, and Aaron knew how dangerous that could be. He nods his head, like he agrees with her noting her smile at the action before speaking. “Yeah, so is that why you don’t like Derek? You think you’re sharing  _ me _  with him?” He says, and like he’d expected, a scowl slips onto her face at the other man’s name. He has to give her props, however as the scowl was only on her face for a second at least, before a forced smile replaces it. “I don’t hate Derek.”

At the lie, Aaron’s demeanor changes and Beth notices it. “Is that so?” He asks, and she nods, her smile becoming nervous. “Then why did taunt him earlier, with a phrase that has haunted him his whole life?” He asks, and she can’t help flinching at the malice in his voice. “I-I don’t know what you’re talking abo-”

Aaron hits the table, causing her to jump and look around, but no one is paying any attention to them. “That’s bull shit and you know it. You caused that man, one of the strongest I’ve ever met in my life, to have a  _ panic attack _ . And for what?” Aaron asks, wanting an answer.

Despite her circumstance, Beth can’t help but smiling when Aaron mentions Derek’s panic attack. Oh how she’d loved seeing that big man break down and cry right in front of her,  _ because _  of her. Aaron notices this and it only fuels his rage as he asks the question again. This time getting the reaction from her that he wanted.

“Because! I don’t like sharing Aaron! You are  _ mine _ , and nobody else, not Derek, not  _ Jack _  can have you.”  Aaron had expected something like this, but at the mention of his son his heart all but stops beating. “What the hell do you mean, not Jack? He’s my  _ son. _  He comes before  _ everything _ , especially you. Hell every single member of my  _ team _  comes before you. I’m sorry if I gave you the impression that you were that important, but this has only been going for about 2 months, and I’m letting you know now, that it’s not going any longer.” Aaron says, and Beth’s jaw drops as she realizes that he’s serious.. Finally, her whole facade drops and Aaron sees her eyes flash with anger and sits back in his seat, to watch whatever show she was about to put on for him. “It’s all because of Derek, isn’t it?  I knew you two had something going on, I see the way he looks at you,” she mutters something else that Aaron can’t hear but he chuckles. “If that was the case, why didn’t you end it sooner? I mean it’s not  _ all  _ your fault, I feel something towards him and I shouldn’t have gotten into a relationship with you because that’s not fair. But if  _ you _  saw something between us, why would you put yourself through this?” Aaron asks, smug as he sees her shoulders drop.

“Because you hadn’t seen  _ me _  yet. I can sway  _ anyone’s _  opinion. I figured you’d be over this little mid life sexuality crisis the moment you laid your eyes on me.” Beth says confidently and Aaron can’t help himself as he barks with laughter, causing her to frown at him again.

_ God, she’s delusional. _  Aaron can’t help but feel bad for the woman, who clearly is not in her right mind. “What, you thought that the minute I saw a boob, my feelings would vanish?” He says, and he has to stop himself from laughing again as she nods quickly, going so far as to pull the top of her dress down a bit to reveal her cleavage.

“Beth, pull your dress back up. You’re embarrassing yourself, and for the sake of your dignity, I’m going to pretend you didn’t just do that.” Aaron says, sighing as he notices her frown once more. “What, am I not good enough for the Almighty Aaron Hotchner? Do I need to have a dick for you to want me?” She asks, and for the first time Aaron notices how insecure she is and hates how desperate she’s making herself look. “No, you have to be Derek.” He says, going to stand when she latches onto his arm.

He glares down at her, causing her to let go. “No, Aaron please don’t leave me.” She begs, and Aaron ignores her, walking away.

Beth watches as he walks out of the restaurant, and wipes away an angry tear as she pulls out her phone.

One the second ring he answers.

“The mission is a go.” She says into the phone, before hanging up.

Derek Morgan was going to regret ever laying his eyes on Aaron Hotchner.

She’ll make sure of it.

~

Derek looks up as the doorknob jiggles, and the sound of a key in the lock is heard seconds later. Once the door is open, Spencer Reid walks in and Derek offers the younger man a smile. One that is completely ignored as the young agent looks confusedly at his phone, then back at Derek with a frown. Derek’s smile falls. “What’s wrong, kid?” He asks, being extra careful not to bump the fast asleep Jack next to him as he gets up to meet his roommate at the door. “Nothing that concerns you, Derek.” Spencer says coldly, and Derek’s confusion skyrockets. Derek motions for Spencer to follow him into the kitchen, out of Jack’s earshot, before speaking. “What the hell did I do?” He asks, not liking that for the second time Spencer was mad at him for no specific reason. “You didn’t do a thing, Derek. How’s Aaron and Beth?” He asks, with a knowing smirk on his face and Derek falters. “How should I know?” The older man asks, not quite sure what’s going on in the younger man’s head. “Well you were over there, weren’t you? To pick Jack up? So what did you do to cause them to break up? It’s like you never want Hotch to have anything, first his job, now you had him break up with Beth? You just don’t want that man to be happy, do you?” Spencer asks coldly, and Derek narrows his eyes at the younger man.

“Spencer I don’t know what the hell is the matter with you, but you don’t get to roll up in here making accusations against me like that. You know damn well that I don’t want Aaron’s job, and what the hell do I have to do with Beth?” He asks, and Reid smirks.

“Since when do you call our  _ boss _ , by his first name?” Spencer asks, and Derek rolls his eyes. “Since he’s been my friend, which is more than I can say about you.” Derek says, and Spencer’s eyes widen. “Derek I-”

Derek just scoffs, walking out of the kitchen before Spencer can finish whatever he was going to say. When he’s back in the living room he sees Jack wide awake, and secretly whoops with joy. “Hey kiddo, you want to go for a ride?” He asks the young boy, while slipping into his shoes, and grabbing his keys, fully aware that Spencer is right behind him. Jack nods excitedly, jumping up quickly. Derek helps him put on his shoes, before he grabs the young boy’s hand and they walk out of the apartment, leaving a scowling Spencer Reid behind, which Derek sees in the reflection of a picture on the wall.

_ Oh well. _  Derek thinks as he walks to his car with the young boy. Derek refuses to let the younger man take whatever frustrations he has out on him, and definitely not with Jack around.

As he comes to this conclusion however, he can’t help thinking about how unusual Spencer has been acting, and knows that those accusations weren’t spontaneous. Spencer had been thinking like this for a long time, and something caused him to lash out now.

But for the life of him, Derek can't figure out what. Or the million dollar question: why?


	14. As The Fog Clears...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I was feeling generous (and procrastinating) I sat here and wrote another chapter for y'all. Literally it's like 4:30AM right now, and I haven't gone to sleep yet because I was up typing this chapter. I just hate cliffhangers, man. I felt evil for leaving y'all with one so I sat here and made another chapter. Enjoy!

Aaron holds the door and smiles at his son as he walks into the school building, waiting until Jack is out of sight before he walks into the office. The secretary looks up as he walks in and smiles. “Good morning, what can we do for you today?” She asks, and Aaron smiles. “Good morning, I’m Aaron Hotchner. I want to know who to talk to about dismissal? Someone picked up my son last week, and I did not authorize that.” He says, and the secretary’s eyes widen before she excuses herself and walks into an office to the left.

She reappears seconds later, and gestures for him to come behind the desk. Once he’s behind the desk she ushers him into the office she’d come out of, shutting the door behind him. He reads the plaque on the desk. 

Principal Amelia Edwards.

Principal Edwards extends her hand and he accepts, shaking it before accepting her offer to sit. “Have you been briefed on the issue?” He asks her, as he sits. She nods and clears her throat. “Ms. Simmons explained that there was an incident about your son’s dismissal.” She says and Aaron nods. “Can you tell me what happened?” She asks and he ignores the way she talks to him like a child. She’s surrounded by them all day, just as he’s surrounded by vicious criminals all of the time, some things you can’t turn off. “A woman by the name of Beth Clemmons, picked up my son last Friday without permission from myself. We’ve broken up now, and it might just come with the job, but I feel like she’s going to try something, and I’d prefer if she didn’t have any access to my son.” He explains to the principal and she nods before trying to apologize.

“I’m sorry Mr. Hotchn-” She starts but gets cut off with the wave of his hand. “I know and it’s not your fault. You have the safety of hundreds of kids to think of, and I know you can’t risk just paying attention to one. What will make me feel better is if I could talk to any resource officer or security guard that you have on campus?” He asks and she nods, radioing for one to meet them in the office, and bids her a good rest of the day before going out into the main office to wait.

He’d had to explain to Jack earlier what was going on, and how he wouldn’t be seeing Beth anymore. Aaron told his son that if he saw Beth at his school, to stay with an adult until he, Jessica, or any of his teammates arrived to pick the boy up. By teammates he really only meant Derek or Jennifer, since they were the ones closest to Jack. “Under no circumstances,  _ none _ Jack do you get into the car with that woman, okay Jack?” Aaron had said, squatting to his son’s level and looking directly into his eyes as he spoke. “Okay Daddy.” Jack said, and Aaron smiled, kissing his cheek and then grabbing his hand as they walked out of the house.

Aaron might be paranoid, but he just  _ knew _ that Beth was up to something, and since he couldn’t arrest anybody off of a hunch, he would have to sit and wait until she’d done something incriminating. Still, he was going to take every precaution that he could before that time. After two minutes, a tall black man walks in, putting his radio back on his belt. Aaron stands. “Morning, I’m Officer Boyd.” He says, extending his hand and Aaron shakes it, gesturing that they head back outside. “Agent Aaron Hotchner, nice to meet you. May I ask, what do you during dismissal?” Aaron asks as the two men walk outside of the building, standing in front of it. Officer Boyd shrugs. “Honestly? Not much, the biggest part of my day is lunch, that’s when I’m usually needed the most, the occasional fight here and there, but dismissal is usually left up to the teachers. They have a rotation, there’s a different teacher out here every afternoon. I just stand by.” He says and Aaron nods.

“How well do you know the kids?” Aaron asks, and Officer Boyd smiles. “I know all of the younger ones, they tend to like me more than the older kids next door. Why?” He asks, and Aaron just smiles a little, before producing his phone. He opens it to a picture of Jack and shows it to Officer Boyd, whose face lights up a bit. “You’re Cap’s dad? Man does he talk about you!” The taller man says and Aaron raises a brow. “I gave him the nickname Cap because he said that’s his favorite superhero, and how you remind him of good ole Captain America.” Aaron can’t stop the wide grin that makes its way onto his face. “May I ask you a small favor?” Aaron asks, and Officer Boyd gestures for him to continue. Aaron shows him a picture of Beth and explains.

“If it’s not too much, could you maybe look out for him whenever it’s dismissal time? I really don’t want this woman around my son. There’s only really two people who will come pick him up, and occasionally two of my team members.” Officer Boyd nods, taking a long look at Beth as to not forget her face. Aaron describes Jessica, Jennifer, and Derek before glancing at his watch. “You guys ask everyone for I.D. when they come pick up their kids, right?” Aaron asks and Officer Boyd nods again. “Okay then it should be fine. Thank you man.” Aaron says, and Officer Boyd salutes with a wink, before heading back into the school building. Aaron turns around and heads back to his truck, shooting a text to Derek as he does. 

 

**_Running late, be there soon._ **

Two seconds later, Derek replies.

**_Bring food._ **

Aaron chuckles and rolls his eyes, before replying. 

**_Sure thing._ **

With that, he gets into his car, calling ahead to Starbucks for the usual order of 4. Himself, Jennifer, Derek and Reid. The other 3 have already had their coffee by now and he’s positive they’ll only want the donuts he’s providing. 

 

“...5 minutes sir.” The woman says on the other line and Aaron thanks her, before hanging up and driving off.

* * * * *

Derek leaves his office to help Hotch bring the food up. As he’s walking through the bullpen he notices Emily and Spencer whispering to each other and he knocks on Emily’s desk, causing her to jump which causes him to look at her suspiciously. “Why so jumpy, Prentiss?” he asks, with a teasing smile, but it surprised when instead of one of her usual sarcastic comebacks he’s met with a glare. “Oh fuck off, Derek.” She says instead, turning back to Reid who just stares. That causes Derek’s suspicions to rise even further and he just scoffs shaking his head, as he turns to head to the elevator.

Derek’s replaying the scene in his head as he goes down to the parking garage, and Aaron raises a brow at the frustrated face on his partner’s face. “What’s the matter, Morgan?” Aaron asks, and Derek sighs as he grabs both boxes of pastries from his boss. “Nothin’ Hotch,” Derek says, and Aaron’s eyes narrow at the young man but he recognizes the look on Derek’s face and knows that he’s not going to get anything out of the man. He’ll have to wait for Derek to come to him on his own. Aaron grabs his briefcase, and the cupholder, before the two head back into the elevator.

Once back in the bullpen they go their separate ways, Aaron with a donut in the hand that’s holding his briefcase, and his coffee in the other, and Derek with the coffee settled on top of the boxes of Donuts. Jennifer passes by him as he heads to the small kitchen area,  grabs her drink and kisses him on the cheek. He grabs a donut and his coffee, before taking the cup holder and dropping it on Reid’s desk as he walks past. “Food’s here,” he mutters, ignoring the surprised yelp from Reid who stops his drink from spilling.

Later that day however, Derek can’t focus on his work because his mind keeps taking him back to two days before, when Reid came home talking reckless, and now Emily and Spencer are whispering? Also, he still wants to know how Beth knew about Carl Buford, and how she knew enough to trigger a panic attack. Derek hadn’t had a panic attack in  _ years _ , and he hates that because of that woman, he’d been reduced to a sniveling mess right in front of her. He shuts the case file and stands.

  
He’s missing something, and he knows it. He paces in his office for a moment before he stops. He needs Hotch. Derek scolds himself for not thinking of his boss earlier, and he’s headed towards the man’s office when someone bumps into him, spilling coffee all over him. Derek sighs because  _ really _ why him? He looks up at Spencer who is glaring at him. “Watch where you’re going, Morgan.” Spencer says maliciously and goes to walk past him but is stopped as Derek blocks him. “No, how about  _ you _ watch where the hell you’re going, huh? I don’t know what you’re problem is, but you’ve got another thing coming if you think I’m going to sit here and be your punching back just because you’re having some temper tantrum.” Derek says, and Reid goes to speak but can’t because suddenly Emily steps in. “Hey don’t be an asshole, Derek.” Reid chuckles and says, “I guess you really are what you eat.” 

Derek is sees red, and he can’t will himself to remember that this is  _ Reid  _ he’s dealing with. He’s had enough of babying the man however and is fully prepared to lay into him. “What the fuck did you just say?” Derek growls out and Reid ignores him, glancing at a smirking Emily. “What you thought we wouldn’t find out? How did you convince Hotch to swing that way though? I’ve always wondered if Carl Buford’s abuse influenced your sexu-” Reid’s sentence is lost somewhere on Derek’s fist as it slices through the air, and connects with the younger man’s jaw. This gets the attention of everybody in the bullpen and Derek can feel Emily clawing at his arm, screaming at him to get off of Spencer.

Derek shoves the man back against the wall and grabs his jaw, glaring deadly at him, vaguely registering Hotch’s door to his right opening. “This the way you talk to someone who picked you up when you were at your lowest, huh? Someone who invited you into their home?” Spencer’s trembling but Derek doesn’t give a damn. He can feel Aaron trying to pull him off of the young doctor but  _ Derek isn’t finished. _ “I fucking let you sleep in my bed because you have  _ nightmares _ , and you tell me you’re going to stand here and  _ joke  _ about the abuse I went through? I hope you have other friends who will take you in because you sure as hell are no longer welcome in my fucking home.” Derek says, staring directly into Spencer’s eyes, and lets go of his jaw, allowing Aaron and Agent Anderson to pull him off of the other man. Spencer simply smiles, and then spits at Derek’s feet. Aaron feels Derek tense and quickly grabs the man’s arms, wrapping an arm around his neck before he can attack the younger agent once more. “Calm down,  _ now. _ ” Aaron says into his ear as he guides Derek up the stairs towards his office, and Derek struggles more. Aaron only tightens his hold on Derek, nodding at Anderson that he could take it from there. “Derek if you try to swing on me, you’ll be in a world of pain. Calm the fuck DOWN!” Aaron yells and Derek is still tense, but his arms relax as they make their way into Aaron’s office.

Aaron all but shoves the man into his office, slamming his door behind him, leaning against it as a barrier between Derek and outside where Reid is. Aaron stands there quietly, letting his agent work out whatever frustrations he had by letting Derek wear a hole into his floor. When it seems that Derek won’t calm down though, Aaron engages, and moves towards the agitated man. Glad he did too, or else he wouldn’t have noticed the man’s heavy breathing, and realized that he was in fact crying. Aaron glances back at his locked door, and closed blinds, before glancing at Derek whose back was to him. Aaron knew something was seriously wrong for Derek Morgan to be crying,  _ twice _ in less than a week. Aaron puts a hand on Derek’s shoulder, and when the man doesn’t respond, Aaron spins him around and wraps his arms around Derek, letting the dejected man cry into his neck, as Derek had done those few months ago.

Derek was better at this emotion thing than Aaron however, because after five minutes of the two being embraced, Derek looks up, breathing back to normal, the only evidence the man had been crying at all being the fact that his eyes were red. Aaron’s positive all of the tears were lost in his shirt collar. Derek allows Aaron to sit him down on the small couch in his office, and Aaron leaves Derek alone for about 5 minutes, returning with ice, an ACE bandage, and a clean shirt. 

For the next 10 minutes the two sit in silence, Derek takes off his shirt and and Aaron hands him the clean one, and once it’s on Aaron places the ice on Derek’s fist, placing the bandage next to Derek and then returning to his desk and working on the file he’d been looking through before. Aaron notices that Derek’s knee is jumping, and only when it stops does he close his file and take a seat in front of him,

He takes Derek hand in his own, setting it on his lap and gesturing for Derek to speak. “I don’t know what’s been going on with him, Hotch. The other day when Jack was with us, he came in throwing around accusations about how I wanted your job, and that I had something to do with you and Beth breaking up-” Derek falters as Aaron does something totally out of character, and brings his hand up to his mouth, kissing each knuckle before taking the ACE bandage, and starts wrapping Derek’s hand. Aaron gives Derek a look making Derek continue, however the tender act still in his mind. “Which is crazy because why would he be mad at me because you two broke up? Then today him and Emily have been acting really suspicious, and I was on my way to talk to you about it, to see if there’s something I’ve been missing when the kid spills his coffee all over me.” Aaron notices Derek’s knee starting to bounce again, and pauses in his hand wrapping to grab the other, and he laces their fingers together, rubbing his thumb over Derek’s fingers, causing Derek to glance down at their intertwined hands, and he lets out a soft breath, before continuing. 

“I wasn’t even mad, figured it was an accident, then he was being rude about it, and I said something back. Wasn’t even harsh, then Prentiss jumped in to his rescue, but then they both started talking shit. I would’ve been perfectly fine with leaving them to their childishness, but then he brought up you. Emily called me an asshole, and Reid made a joke about it, that turned into him knowing about us, and then he fucking brought up Buford!” Derek squeezes Aaron’s hand, but Aaron continues rubbing it, urging Derek to continue, “I’m sorry Hotch, I didn’t think but all I could see was red. Even from the grave that man has managed to haunt me, Aaron.” Derek sighs and Aaron squeezes his hand once more, before returning his attention to the injured one, and he quickly finishes wrapping it.

Once he’s done, Aaron sits back, and takes in how miserable Derek looks, and he can’t believe that only 2 hours ago, the man had a smile on his face. “How did Spencer know that I broke up with Beth?” Aaron asks suddenly, causing Derek to look up at him, wearily. “You mean you didn’t tell him?” Derek asks, and Aaron’s silence is all the answer he needs and suddenly Derek is up on his feet. “I knew coming to you would make me see what I was missing! There’s only one person besides yourself and I who knew that you and Beth broke up.” Derek says with a grin.

“And that would be Beth,” Hotch says, standing up as well starting to get Derek’s point. “When you left, did you see Beth on her phone?” Derek asks, and Aaron makes his mind rewind back to Friday, and he can vaguely remember turning around and seeing Beth with a phone pressed to her ear. “Actually, yes,” Aaron says, and Derek nods, confirming something in his mind. 

“When Reid came in, he was looking at his phone weirdly, and then we got into an argument.” Aaron and Derek look at eachother. “I’m willing to bet that a look at her phone call log, will show Reid’s number.” Aaron says, and Derek grins before shocking Aaron and going behind his desk and sitting down at his computer. Derek begins to type and Aaron remains slack jawed, as the man easily pulls up the phone records of one Beth Clemmons. Derek gestures for the older man to come take a look, only to see the surprise on his boss’ face. “All these years with Garcia, and you know nothing? You disappoint me.” Derek teases, and Aaron simply shrugs as he goes behind his desk, leaning over Derek’s shoulder to see the computer. The two look over the numbers, and notice 3 that stand out. One for sure is Spencer, and Derek is positive that he recognizes one of the other numbers as well. Aaron points out that Beth has made a call to one number 18 times in the past week alone. As Derek looks up at the screen once more, he can’t help the dread that he feels as he knows why he recognizes the number.

Aaron notices this and questions him. “What is it?” Derek simply sighs, before pulling out his phone and tapping the number into his contact, and Aaron takes a sharp breath as ‘Emily Prentiss’ appears over the number. Derek groans. “Damn it.” He says, rubbing his face with his palms. “What now?” Aaron asks, and Derek leans back into the chair, “ever since the dinner, Reid and Prentiss have been setting off alarm bells in my head, but I shrugged them off because they’re family, although I  _ knew _ something was going on. I mean how else could Beth know about Buford? Only something tells me that she’s manipulating them somehow. Even if it ever came down to the two of them absolutely hating me, there’s no way they’d ever reveal that stuff intentionally.” Derek explains, and Aaron nods.

“I did however know that coming to you would clear things up for me! On one hand I want to kiss you for helping, but the other want to slam you into a wall for proving that I was right.” Aaron’s eyes dart to Derek’s lips and back up. “I wouldn’t mind.” Aaron answers, and Derek doesn’t pay close enough attention to how Aaron feels about those two, as his head is thrown back and his eyes are shut. “Which one?” He asks, tiredly, and Aaron runs his hand down Derek’s chest. 

“Both.” He replies hoarsely, and Derek cracks an eye open, finally taking in Aaron’s hand dancing on his chest, and the dark look in his lover’s eyes. Derek raises an eyebrow. “ _ Oh.” _ He whispers before getting to his feet and moving closer to Aaron, lifting his head a fraction to meet the other man’s lips, barely containing his groan at the feel of Aaron’s soft lips against his own. In all the years Derek has known Aaron he’s never once seen the man use chapstick, which begs the question, how the hell are his lips so soft? Aaron’s hands grip at Derek’s waist, and Derek’s hands, not wanting to be left out, slide up Aaron’s chest, and Derek adds pressure, pushing the older man against the wall just as requested. Aaron’s head goes back against the wall and he sighs contentedly as Derek kisses down his neck. “Fuck,” Aaron breathes  out, grabbing Derek’s chin, and bringing his mouth back up to his own, licking at Derek’s lips, begging for entrance. Derek however is not giving in, and it becomes a game on who’ll breach first. Aaron pulls back, breathing heavily, and Derek, who apparently can hold his breath for a long time, puts his lips to use on Aaron’s jaw, teeth grazing ever so gently against his skin as Derek makes his way down. “You..know there’s...consequences right?” Aaron breathes out, having trouble piecing the sentence together as Derek licks around his Adam’s Apple. “I’d feel some type of way if there weren’t” Derek murmurs against his throat, the vibration plus the sensation of Derek’s tongue making Aaron gasp, and Derek takes advantage by lifting his head quickly and licking his way into the white man’s mouth.

As their tongues touch Aaron moans, and inside beats himself over his feminine reaction, however the sound only seems to encourage Derek who starts to massage Aaron’s growing hard on with his uninjured hand, eager to hear the sound again. The dual sensations become to much for Aaron and he has to push Derek off to regain some control. Aaron’s hands go to his knees, as he breathes heavily, and Derek, the smug bastard, grins at him. Aaron rolls his eyes, of course Derek Morgan would be able to kiss someone like that, and not be affected in the least. Well something was affected, Aaron realizes as he notices Derek fix his jeans, and he’s about to say something when his computer dings.

Derek walks past a recovering Aaron and glances at the desktop. “Hm.” Is all he says, and Aaron stops himself from hitting Derek, who for the hundredth time that day, didn’t say what was on his mind. “Who is it?” Aaron asks, once he realizes that Derek won’t provide him any answers. “The number is registered to a Cade Bryant. I’ve heard that name before.” Derek says, and Aaron tilts his head. “So have I. I think Beth mentioned a brother-in-law by that name.” Aaron offers, and Derek shakes his head. “That makes sense, but how would I know about him? I have to know him from something else.” Derek queries, and Aaron lifts up his phone. “Here’s one way to find out?” The darker man accepts the phone, and dials the number putting it on speaker for Aaron to hear as well.

 

The phone rings once.

Twice.

On the third ring someone picks up.

“Officer Bryant.”

Derek glances at Aaron, then he pushes the bright red button.

_ Beep beep beep._


	15. Benched

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everybody! To start off I want to tell you guys how exhausting this chapter has been. It's literally 10 pages I had to stop so it wouldn't be so long. Some people love long chapters, and I know I do as well but I HATE writing them. So this chapter is being cut in two, it was supposed to be a chapter where they finally go on a date, but my creativity got the better of me so I had to add some things, and take them out and wow I'm kind of rambling but yeah. The next chapter for sure is date night, and expect for some things to get hot and steamy. I've been doing a lot of research (reading a lot of smut lmao) so that I can write the scene perfectly so while you guys read this just know I'm working on something extra special. I'm so sorry that I have to keep torturing my mans Derek but he's going to be able to rest soon, promise. Like always, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and your feedback is ALWAYS appreciated.
> 
> ~ Kaitlyn xoxo

Derek got a five day suspension.

Despite Aaron’s knowledge of what led to the physical altercation, he still had to act professionally, and what Derek did was wrong. Derek was fine with the punishment because it gave him some time to himself to figure just what the hell was going on with his two “friends” and the pleasure of knowing that Spencer wasn’t getting away with his role in the incident. Aaron gave him a verbal _and_ written reprimand over his actions, and he wasn’t allowed to travel with the team on their latest case with the rest of the team, and he didn’t even get briefed he was tasked with looking through case files and writing profiles only, and the team would call him if needed. So, in hindsight, he was benched just like Derek.

His time off also meant that he got to spend more time with Jack, and while his dad was away, dropped the young boy off every day, and picked him up as well. He made friends with Officer Boyd, who was from Chicago as well. Some days, like today, he’d pick up Henry as well since J.J. was in Arizona with the team, and Will was at work. Derek couldn’t help feeling a little smug once he’d realized that instead of calling Reid (who was Henry’s godfather) she’d asked him to pick the boy up instead. Which was fine by the way, an extra small ball of fun was perfectly okay with Derek who absolutely _adored_ kids. Derek sends a quick wave to Officer Boyd as he leans against his car door. The other man salutes in return, and then the bell rings and a hyper sea of children appear. Okay, a  _sea_  is an exaggeration, at least 50 small kids appear, and they’re all divided into tens with a designated teacher.

Derek spots Jack’s head and sees that the boy is already with Henry, who’s clutching his hand. Derek smiles and waves as he starts to approach, along with a couple other parents. Henry is a shy kid just like Jack, but when the two get together they’re wild, and it’s really cute honestly. Will has told Derek that Henry calls Jack his best friend, and Derek can’t help but agree. “Uncle Derek!” Jack and Henry yell simultaneously and start to run towards him only to be held by their teacher. “Jack, Henry you can’t just go running off with strangers!” The lady yells at them, causing a frown to appear on both boy’s faces, and Henry’s lips start to quiver, which instantly causes a frown to appear on Derek’s face. As the other kids go off with their parents, he notices some of the adults glance back at him, and his heart starts beating fast as he anticipates the situation he’s about to face. “Ma’am I’d like to encourage you to let them go so that I can take them home,” Derek says, and the woman’s eyes harden, pulling on the boys tighter, which causes Henry to let out a small whimper, which Jack hears and in a quick move he yanks the teacher’s arm from over them, and with his hand still in Henry’s pulls them out of her reach, going behind Derek, shocking both the teacher and Derek himself, who quickly recovers and blocks them quickly from her view. “If there is a problem you can look at the clipboard that you’re holding and my name is one of the four for each of the boys, but if not I’ll be heading to my car now,” Derek says, and he catches some of the sneers coming from the other parents, but ignores it since there are children around.

“Actually, I am going to need to see your ID, sir.” The woman says, and Derek is glad that she asked, otherwise he was not going to trust the school any longer. She looks at it for a moment, and then back at Derek and instead of giving him back his credentials, she holds onto it for a little bit, calling out for someone to call the police. There are mixed reactions from the crowd that has slowly started to surround them, and Derek feels a tug on his pants from Jack. “Uncle Derek, can we go home now?” He asks, and Derek assures him that they’ll be on their way soon. “Sure we can buddy, Miss you can hand my credentials back now,” he says stepping closer only for a white man to step in front of the woman, blocking her from Derek. “Man, you need to step back, now.” The man demands, trying to intimidate Derek by puffing out his chest, which fails because he’s a good 5 inches shorter than Derek. Officer Boyd notices the small disturbance and heads over. “What’s the problem, Amelia?” He asks the teacher, who is on the phone with the police, getting his answer shortly after she speaks into the phone. “..there’s a man here impersonating a federal agent, and he has two kids hostage.” She says into the phone, and Derek’s fists clench, not liking the response he’s sure to get.

“Look, I just want my credentials, and to take these two kids home, I’ve been here every day this entire week, what changed?” Derek asks, taking a step forward only to be pushed back by the small man. That causes Derek’s jaw to tick, and Officer Boyd notices, as he goes to stand between the two. “Look, Derek, I’ll get your credentials, why don’t you go get the kids buckled up?” He says, and Derek nods, glad to be reminded about the two reasons he couldn’t act out of his character. He pulls out his own phone, shooting a quick text as the kids get settled into his backseat, and then he starts the car, turning on the heat so the kids don’t freeze in the cold weather that is the East Coast.

Aaron doesn’t respond, so he must be in the field, and Derek groans as the woman moves closer, glancing at the kids in the back seat with a frown. “He’s black, about 6 foot, but you have to hurry, he’s got the kids in the car!” She says, and Derek's heart starts beating and his checks around his waist to make sure he doesn’t have his weapon on him. That would probably get him shot on sight. The teacher moves towards his car, but he steps in front of the door, cutting her off once more. “Ma’am I’ve already asked you once, and I’m not asking again. Give me my credentials.” He says only this time her confidence falters as she looks into the eyes of a pissed off Derek Morgan. “No! Impersonating a federal agent is a crime!” The woman whines and Derek rolls his eyes. “So is stealing, which is what you’re doing since you have yet to return my credentials.” He says, but she just shakes her head, and Derek goes to grab for his credentials when the man swings at him. Out of pure instinct, Derek ducks the swing, grabbing the man’s wrist and twisting it behind his back. “You just tried to assault a federal agent,” Derek says, making sure he’s blocking the picture from the kids. “If you try it again, I’ll snap your wrist, _and_ press charges,” Derek says, adding pressure on the man’s wrist and the guy nods his head quickly, and Derek looks up noticing someone’s recording.

 _For fuck’s sake_ , he just wanted to go home. He hears the sound of quickly approaching sirens, and grabs his phone, dialing Will’s number and handing the phone to Henry, hoping that he’ll receive some sort of backup. “Hey, buddy I need you to talk to Daddy okay, and tell him that Uncle Derek needs some help here at the school, okay?” Henry nods and grabs the big phone in his small hands, and Derek offers him a reassuring smile, closing the door gently.  
  
Officer Boyd moves to stand next to Derek. “I’m sorry man, she’s been sick all week, and just came back today, though she shouldn’t be acting this way.” Officer Boyd sighs, and Derek nods, glad the man had answered his unasked question about the lady. “You should go somewhere else, don’t want them to confuse you with me,” Derek says, and Officer Boyd sighs but goes back to his position near the front doors, speaking something into his walkie as he does. “I suggest that the rest of you take your children and leave before the police get here, I wouldn’t want them to see something that affects their innocence,” Derek says sarcastically, but sternly causing some of the onlookers to do just as he said, and the small crowd dwindles, leaving only the teacher, the random guy who tried to attack Derek, the kids, and Officer Boyd, along with whoever was still recording.

“Since you already know my name, mind telling me yours?” Derek asks, and the woman just scoffs, still holding her phone to her ear shakily, even though they both knew that the dispatcher was no longer on the line. “Don’t worry, I’ll get it, and yours as well.” He says, crossing his arms and leaning against the car, still blocking Jack and Henry from the view of what was going on outside. He could hear Will talking to Henry and Jack, assuring both boys that he would be there soon. He feels a brief bout of relief, which is quickly lost when the sirens finally pull up.

His luck goes from bad to worse, when none other than Officer Bryant aka Beth’s brother aka ‘Fidgety Cop’ steps out of the passenger side of the vehicle, sending Derek a smug look as he and his partner approach them. “Well nice to see you again, Agent Morgan.” Officer Bryant says, and his partner looks between the two. “What seems to be the problem here?” The other officer asks, and Derek goes to speak when the teacher beats him to it. “This man is impersonating a federal agent, and trying to kidnap these two little boys!” She exclaims, and Derek’s eyes widen.

“What the hell do you mean kidnap? Not once has either of those kids tried to run away from me, hell they ran _to_ me, did you not hear them call me Uncle Derek? Plus Officer Bryant here just called me, Agent Morgan. I don’t know what’s wrong with you, but I’m fed up, and you’ve held my credentials long enough-” Derek shifts on his feet a bit, angling himself more towards the woman, only to be tackled by Officer Bryant. Derek’s face hits the concrete ground hard, and he can feel blood start trickling down his face. “What the fuck man, get off of me!” Derek yells, twisting in the grip only to be struck in his head. Derek’s face hits the pavement again, and the sudden taste of blood in his mouth gets his adrenaline pumping. The agent is seeing red, and it’s not from the blood that’s dripping into his eye.

Derek manages to get Officer Bryant off of him, to his right noticing his partner holding back Officer Boyd. “What the hell is wrong with you man?” Derek growls as he gets to his feet, spitting the blood out of his mouth and he turns to face the kids to see if they’re alright but stops in his tracks when he hears the cocking of a gun and feels the cool metal against the back of his neck. “Resisting arrest? Show me your fucking hands!” Bryant yells, and Derek hates the reflection that he sees in the window of his Charger and the fact that those two sweet little boys are seeing everything that’s happening. “You can see my fucking hands, and I will have your fucking badge for this, best believe that. I’m gonna have IA knocking down your fucking door you hear me?” Derek says, his stomach twisting as he hears more sirens headed his way. Officer Bryant taps the gun against the side of Derek’s head. “I’m sorry were you saying something?”

Derek is literally _shaking_ with anger at this point, and Officer Bryant is clearly getting off on it, taunting Derek every chance he gets, and when Derek turns just a little he’s met with a strike to the back of his head again. His vision is suddenly blurry, and his knees buckle sending him to the ground, and he feels the gun resting at the back of his head now. He looks up as the newest police vehicle appears, and Will and his partner step out, causing Officer Bryant to lower his weapon.

“Officer, back away from Agent Morgan!” Will says, glancing at Derek and then back a the officer with an angry gaze. “He was resi-” Officer Bryan starts only for Will to cut him off. “Bullshit! He’s on his knees, facing a car with two kids, one that happens to be _mine_ so I suggest you back the hell up. NOW.” Will demands and Derek hears Bryant breathe angrily, before stepping back. With one eye on the crazy police officer, Will rushes by Derek’s side, looking him over. “Derek man, are you okay? We’re calling an ambulance okay? Can you stand?” Will asks a million questions, and Derek has a nod for every single one, only to wince at the fiery pain that he feels in his head. He accepts the man’s hand to stand, and gestures to the teacher who's being spoken to by the principal. “My credentials…” He says, and Will nods, walking Derek back over to the Charger sitting him in the passenger side, waving at the boys before heading over the woman who got him into this mess. He notices the man recording start to walk away and he calls out for him, beckoning him to come over.

Jack and Henry are silent, which isn’t a good sign but Derek can’t reassure them. “Hey look, man, I’m sorry-”

“I don’t care, I just need you to send that to me,” Derek says, wincing at the exploding pain in his head. “Are you sure you wan-” The man starts, and Derek groans, from the pain, not the man. “It’s evidence, and if I leave you alone, one of those cops is going to get to it, and then it’s going to be altered and I’ll have no case, so I need you to send it to me, now please,” Derek says, groaning at the blood he was getting on his seat.

“Uncle Derek, are you okay?” Jack asks from the backseat after the man is gone and Derek is looking at it on his phone. “Not really buddy, but don’t worry I will be.”

Moments later Will returns with his credentials. “Derek there’s a big accident and we don’t have a bus, so I’m going to drive alright? You got lights and sirens on this beauty don’t you?” Will asks after closing Derek’s door and heading and getting into the driver’s side.

Derek can only muster a small smirk, reaching underneath the radio and pulling out the sliding tray which holds all of the buttons. “Attaboy, you hang in there okay Derek?” Will says, buckling up. “Mhm.” Derek murmurs leaning his head back against his leather seat.

Will activates the lights and sirens, and then they’re off.  
  
* * * * * *

When Aaron gets back into the Newark Police Department, he notices JJ waiting for him, and she looks worried which makes him worry. “What is it JJ?” He asks, glancing back as the rest of the team files in behind him. It had been a long week, but they finally caught up to a serial rapist, after sending one of their own agents out as bait, which Hotch hated to do.

“I don’t know, Will called me and said they were at the hospit-”  
“Is he okay?” Prentiss asks, and Jennifer nods quickly. “Yes he’s fine, it’s Derek who is admitted.” Aaron’s heart drops and glances up at Jennifer with a questioning look. “Are the boys okay? What happened to Derek?” Aaron asks, jumping to the worst conclusion. He remembers talking to Derek last night, as they’d done the entire week and him mentioning picking up Henry as well. If Derek was in the hospital, what did that mean about the kids? “Hey Aaron slow down, they’re fine. It wasn’t a car accident but some sort of situation at the school that cops escalated.” Aaron nods, but still unconvinced. “What about Derek?” Rossi asks from behind Aaron placing a discreet hand on his shoulder for comfort. “He has a mild concussion is all, he’ll be fine, but I’ve already finished everything here and the plane is waiting for us as we speak.” She says, and Aaron thanks her, pulling out his phone and frowning at the missed text he got from Derek.

He pushes #1 on his speed dial (and when did that happen?) and the phone rings twice before it’s picked up. “Uncle Derek’s phone, what can I do for you?” He hears Henry’s small voice over the phone, and despite his worry smiles at the cuteness. “Hiya Henry, what’s going on buddy?” Aaron asks the young boy, and JJ looks up at the mention of her son. Aaron points to the phone and she smiles a little, and with that Aaron turns and leaves the room, listening to Henry explain that they were at the hospital with Daddy and Uncle Derek, who is sleeping. “Where’s your dad Henry?”

The sound of a door opening and then shutting gives him an answer. “Alright Henry, don’t tell mommy, but I got some pizza for you guys how does that soun- Hey when did Jack go to sleep? Henry, who are you talking to?” A couple seconds later Will replaces Henry on Derek’s phone. “How’s Derek?” Aaron asks, and Will takes a moment before answering. “He’s got a busted lip, some stitches over his eye, and a concussion that he’s sleeping off. The kids have been up _all day_ so I’m going to take them home after he wakes back up, and Garcia is on her way now.” Will reports and Aaron although slightly relieved, won’t be able to breathe until he hears from Derek _himself_ how he’s doing. “Thank you Will, you mind telling me just what happened though?”

“There was some problem when Derek went to pick up Jack and Henry, some teacher who had been sick all week and didn’t know who he was. Derek showed her his credentials, but then she snatched and claimed that he was impersonating a federal agent. She called the police and said that he was kidnapping and holding hostage the boys even though his name was on a list, and Derek led the kids into the car before the police came and then Henry called me. When I got there Derek was on his knees facing away from an officer with his gun pointed at Derek’s head, right in front of our kids man,” there’s a pause, and Aaron knows it’s Will trying to keep his anger at bay. “I got the Officer’s information along with everyone else on the scene, apparently this Officer Bryant has had a run in with Derek before. I don’t care though, whatever grudge he has against Derek is going to cost him his badge, I’ll make sure of it.” Will says determinedly, making Aaron feel a bit better about learning that Officer Bryant was involved.

“Thank you Will, I appreciate you looking out for Jack _and_ Derek. We’re heading to the airport so I’ll let you take care of the boys now.” Aaron says gratefully, and Will shushes Henry before replying. “Sorry I didn’t want to wake either of your boys up,” Will says, and Aaron grins at his choice of words. “But Jack is never a problem, so don’t you mention it. Have a safe flight.” Will says into the phone, and then suddenly he hears Henry again. “Bye Uncle Aaron!” Henry whispers excitedly. “Bye, buddy.”

Then they’re gone.

Aaron shoves his phone back into his suit pocket and then rushes to the Suburban where the rest of the team are already waiting. Dave tosses him the keys, and Aaron goes to the driver’s side, giving a moment for everyone to get buckled and secure, before pressing on the gas and hightailing it to the airport.

_I’m coming, Derek._

~   
Derek knows somebody’s in the room with him before he even opens his eyes. He knows there are only two people who would stay with him overnight, and he knows that it’s night because of the lack of sound coming from the hallway, and judging from the masculine smell coming off of his visitor, he knows it’s Aaron sitting at his bedside, instead of Garcia who wears fruity perfume. When he finally opens his eyes, it takes him a moment to adjust to the darkness in his room. When he glances to his right he finds Aaron fast asleep next to him, head resting on a pillow beside Derek’s thigh. Judging from the suit he must’ve come straight off of the jet, and Derek knows that the man is very tired because, after all these years, he’s never once seen Aaron sleep on the jet, especially when there’s something waiting for him at home. Derek pushes the red button to his left, and when a nurse appears moments later he tilts his head at Aaron and the woman nods, keeping quiet as she checks him over and tells him what’s going on. Not once does Aaron stir, and Derek wonders just how long it’d been since the sleeping man actually _slept_.

After checking his eyes, and giving Derek some at-home instructions, the nurse tells him that after she checks with his doctor he should be free to go home. As the door shuts, Derek glances back at what appears to be Aaron’s sleeping form, but from the breath change, he knows that the man is awake. “You could have woken me,” Aaron says without lifting his head. Derek shrugs, “Figured you needed some sleep.”

Aaron lifts his head and smiles tiredly at Derek. “How are you feeling?” He asks, and Derek shrugs again. “Like I’ve been pistol whipped and fed my face concrete,” Derek says snarkily, then winces at his tone. It’s not Aaron’s fault. Aaron doesn’t seem to put off by the tone though, and Derek realizes it’s because Aaron blames himself. “I’m sorry this happened to you, Derek,” Aaron says, sitting up from his current position, grief displayed all over his face. Derek grabs the older man’s hand. “Why do you always do this, Aaron?” He asks, and Aaron’s face twists in confusion. “Wha-”

“Why do you always blame yourself, everything bad that happens is not because of something you did, you know that right? This,” Derek gestures to himself. “Is not your fault. Seriously, Aaron, you can’t keep this up. If you keep blaming yourself for everything bad that happens you’ll become miserable, and I’m not going to let that happen, understand?”

Aaron nods, but Derek can tell he’s not convinced. Derek tugs at the hand that he’s holding, pulling Aaron to him. “This is _not your fault_ ,” Derek says, placing Aaron’s hand against the stitches over his forehead. Derek then moves Aaron’s hand over his accelerating heartbeat. “This, however, _is_ your fault. You make me crazy, you know that?” From the smile that Derek receives, he can tell he’s convinced the older man, and with that, he pulls his boss closer and places a soft kiss on his lips. When Derek leans back Aaron smiles again and then squeezes Derek’s hand.

“Okay.”

Later, as Derek is signing discharge papers, he wonders about the boys. He knows that they’re with Will, he can remember Jack hugging him before they left, but he wonders if they’ll be okay after seeing what happened earlier. Derek shakes his head quickly before he can replay the entire situation again if he does he’ll become mad again and he doesn’t want that.

When they’re in Aaron’s SUV he notices Aaron drive straight past an exit that would lead them to his house, and instead continues on to where Derek knows is Aaron’s place. “If you were going to take me home, you should’ve stopped at my place first for some clothes,” Derek says, and when Aaron doesn’t reply he just lays his head against the window.

Aaron, however, is trying to contain his grin at Derek’s referral to his house as _home_.

When they make it _home_ , Derek is fully prepared to crash on the couch as usual, but his plan is thwarted when Aaron grabs his hand and leads him upstairs to his room. “Taking me to bed already? At least buy a guy coffee first, Aaron.” Derek says with a teasing smile that Aaron rolls his eyes at. “Well if you’re up to it, I was thinking about going to Virginia Beach tomorrow?” Aaron asks almost shyly, and Derek fake gasps. “Aaron Hotchner, are you asking me on a date?” Derek asks dramatically, narrowly dodging the pillow Aaron chucks at him. “Depends, are you going to keep being an ass about it?” Aaron asks, and Derek puts his hands up in surrender. “We’ve been dancing around these feelings between us for months, and with everything that has been going on we haven’t really acted on them,” Derek raises an eyebrow. “Okay so maybe we _have_ acted on them if us attacking each other’s lips is anything to go by, but sorry I’m a traditional man and I’d prefer to at least go on one date before we reach third base.” Aaron rambles and Derek chuckles as he steps out of his shoes. “What type of man do you take me for, Aaron? You think I’ll let you get in my pants after one date?” Derek asks mockingly, causing Aaron to pause in the removal of his suit.

“I could get in your pants just fine, Derek,” Aaron says deadpan, and Derek’s mouth hangs open, not quite sure how to respond to that. “Close your mouth, don’t want to give me too many ideas,” Aaron says with a smirk, then heads into his bathroom leaving a shell shocked Derek Morgan in his wake. When Aaron returns from the bathroom, he is completely out of his suit, dressed in only boxers and he throws a curious glance at Derek. “I don’t know what you like, but me? I’m not a big fan of blood on my bed, so I’d suggest removing your clothes instead of standing there gawking.” Aaron says as he opens a drawer, pulling out two shirts. “You’re still trying to get me out of my pants I see, but you make a good point. After I take off said clothes what do you suggest I wear? I don’t know what you like but I wouldn’t want a naked man rubbing against me when I sleep.” Derek says snarkily, laughing wrinkles appearing around his eyes as he notices Aaron’s scowl. “Here smartass. Everything I have should fit on you since I am taller than you.” Aaron says as he throws an old FBI shirt at Derek who scowls as he catches it.

“I don’t understand why you choose to bring that up. You’re only an _inch_ taller Aaron, besides I’m bigger than you.” Derek says, then makes a flexing motion with his arm and okay, Aaron admits that Derek is probably bigger than him, in more areas than one. With that train of thought, Aaron’s eyes glide down the bare chest of his lover, down to the spanks that he was wearing underneath his sweats and he can see the outline of just how _big_ Derek really is. Derek follows his gaze and smirks. “Doesn’t that hurt?” He asks, and mentally facepalms at the annoying question that is usually asked by women.

“Really, Hotch?” Derek asks, and Aaron smiles sheepishly before climbing into the bed. “You’re such a dork,” Derek says as he slips the t-shirt over his head slowly, careful not to brush it against his stitches. “That’s not an insult,” Aaron says, rolling over to face Derek, he pats the empty spot beside him. “Wasn’t supposed to be.”

“Since when do we sleep together?” Derek questions, even as he slides into his designated spot. “Since I got a full night of sleep just from having you by my side,” Aaron says truthfully, and instead of giving a verbal response, Derek just rolls on his side and wraps his arms around the older man, closing his eyes as he hears the sigh of content come from his partner.

~  
When Derek wakes up it’s to a mind splitting headache, and he’s glad that Aaron hasn’t opened the blinds and let the sun in or else Derek’s positive he would’ve just combusted. He can smell whatever breakfast that Aaron is preparing, and wonders just how out of it he was for Aaron to even get up from the bed without him hearing. Derek shuts his eyes again, wincing at all the colorful spots he sees behind his eyelids. Slowly, he moves to a sitting up position, going to rub his forehead but stopping as he remembers the seven stitches that he’d been about to mess with. With a groan, the special agent gets to his feet, making his way to the bathroom where he knows Aaron keeps the Tylenol. He grabs three of the pills and heads downstairs. When he rounds the corner he’s met with the sight of Aaron humming whilst flipping a pancake, and before he can even say anything Aaron speaks. “There is orange juice in the fridge, but I suggest taking the pills with food instead of drink.” Derek is not surprised that he was caught, he wasn’t necessarily quiet coming down the stairs.

“What is _this_? The Frigid Aaron Hotchner is cooking, for _me_? Why I am ever so honored, but forgive me if I don’t believe that this meal comes with ulterior motives.” Derek muses, grabbing two glasses and opening the fridge afterward. “Why of course, instead of just feeding you, I’m thinking of feeding myself as well,” Aaron says sarcastically, flipping the pancake one last time before setting it on a plate. “You don’t cook,” Derek states, earning a frown from the older man. “I _do_ cook.” He insists, grabbing an extra plate and putting three pancakes on it before shoveling some eggs and sausage on it as well. “Aaron, these past five months that I’ve spent taking care of Jack, not once have you cooked. It’s either me or Jessica that do it. Sometimes even J.J. when her and the boys come over.” Derek says matter-of-factly, getting a glare from Aaron. “I _do_ cook. How else would I feed my son? Or _myself_?” He asks with a small frown, and Derek shrugs. “When’s the last time you made a dinner. Completely from scratch, no frozen foods, no extras from potlucks, _completely_ by yourself?”

Aaron opens his mouth and then closes it quickly and Derek grins at his answer. “I’m not going to answer that,” Aaron says, before pushing the plate in front of Derek and shoving him syrup and hot sauce. “How did you know I like hot sauce on my eggs?” Derek asks, accepting the plate and handing Aaron his glass of OJ. “We’ve worked together how long, Derek? I know a lot about you.” Aaron says as he makes his own plate and pulls out a stool beside Derek. “Is that so?” Derek asks, taking a bit of pancake, and washing it down with pills and orange juice. “It certainly is, but I’m not going into any detail because we’ve got to get a move on.”

The two finish eating and Aaron heads upstairs to get dressed while Derek makes some calls downstairs. “Hello, Captain Sauls.” He says cheekily, and from the breath, he can hear over the phone he knows that the woman is annoyed. “Agent Morgan.” She breathes, and Derek can hear someone else in the background. “I take it you’ve been informed of your officer’s actions yesterday,” Derek states, and he hears a chuckle in the background. “I have, and I believe that it was all justified.” She says smugly, causing Derek to frown. “You may see it that way but the jury won’t, and something tells me that the MPD will be looking for a new Captain sooner than later.”

Aaron returns downstairs and Derek puts the phone on speaker, just in time for Captain Sauls to respond. “You really think the jury will believe an aggressive black man, over two white police officers? Agent Morgan, I’d suggest you just let this little incident go, and save yourself the embarrassment of taking this to court.” She says smugly and Aaron’s eyes widen. No way this woman should’ve been allowed to be a cop. “Do you really think that a jury will rule in your favor?” Aaron asks and Derek waits for the response curiously. “Who the hell are you?” The captain asks, and Aaron glances at Derek who gives him a ‘go ahead’ gesture. “I am Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner, and I suggest you familiarize yourself with that name because you’re going to be hearing it a lot coming soon, especially if you continue to harass my agent.”

Captain Sauls scoffs. Before she can reply however the voice from the background speaks up. “So, you’re the asshole that broke my baby sister’s heart.” Officer Bryant says, and Aaron notices Derek’s jaw tighten at the sound of the other man’s voice. “And you’re the dumbass who assaulted my agent in front of my kid. Psychotic must run in the family I guess. I want you to remember something, the next time you point a weapon at my agent will be the last time you do anything.” Aaron says coldly, surprising Derek at the dark side of Aaron that he’s seeing.

“You can’t say-” Officer Bryant starts and Aaron cuts him off. “I already did.” Then he hangs up.

“What was that?” Derek asks as Aaron sets his phone back on the counter. Aaron just shrugs. “They were wasting our time, now come on so you can get changed.”

“What about Jack?” Derek asks as he stands up, gathering his phone, wallet, and keys. “He’s having a sleepover with Henry now hurry up,” Aaron says, pushing Derek towards the door.

“Okay, what’s the rush?” Derek asks as they reach the front door.

Aaron slaps his ass and grins at the surprised look on Derek’s face. “It’s _date_ night.”


	16. Take Me Out To The Ballgame

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Derek and Aaron go on a date, some smut ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A thousand apologies coming your way. This year has been so hectic omfg, like seriously right after we moved in school started and it was a lot more hectic than I realized, like I have an AP class this year, it has literally been beating my ass but we're on Christmas Break which means two weeks of a stress free life, and I'm going to try to finish this story before January 1st of 2019. Hope some of the cute moments in this chapter make up a bit for the long period of waiting you guys had to wait on. Really hope you guys didn't give up on this book, anyways enough of this, time to get started. Happy Reading!

_“I don’t want to do this anymore. Please.” The young man begs, and the siblings smile sinisterly at his broken form. “It’s too late for that, we’re going to break him, all thanks to your help.” The woman says and the young man whimpers. “What did he ever do to you, why are you doing this to me? Please, don’t!” The young man yells, only to be hushed as they strap him down again. “The next time you see Derek Morgan, will be the last time you see Derek Morgan. He’s going to leave you, understand that? You can’t let him leave you.” The woman whispers into the struggling form of the younger man. She repeats her sentence until he stops thrashing. “He’s going to leave me, can’t let him leave me.” He says before passing out and the woman looks up at her brother. “It’s almost over.” She says, and her older brother grins. “He’ll be out of our lives soon. For good.” Her brother says, and together they both smile down at the unconscious young man, who was the key to their plan._  
  


* * *

 

“Slight change of plans,” Aaron says as Derek is locking his front door. “What do you mean, slight change of plans? What are you up to?” Derek asks, squatting to tie his shoe a little tighter. When he stands to his full height, he glances at Aaron who just waves two tickets in his hands. “Look what I found?” Aaron asks cheekily, and Derek groans. “If those are the tickets I gave you for the Patriots game, I’m not going. I hate the Patriots and you know it.” Derek grumbles, and Aaron glares at him. “Don’t flatter yourself, that game was like a month ago and I went with Jack thank you very much.” Derek grins, and Aaron just rolls his eyes before continuing. “These are Blue Jays tickets for your information, and you need to hurry up if you don’t want to miss it,” Aaron says and holds Derek’s door open for him. “Why aren’t you quite the gentleman? I could’ve sworn I was the man in this relationship.” Derek jokes and Aaron scowls, slamming the door as Derek reaches for his seatbelt, nearly taking Derek’s fingers off. “Hey!” Derek exclaims, snatching his hand backward.

Aaron only grins, before climbing into the driver’s side. “Just because I’ve been donned the Mom, doesn’t make me any less of a man,” Aaron says, and Derek just chuckles. “You’re right, but hey that just means you get to call me Daddy.” He says with a smirk, and Aaron literally has to hold his other hand back to keep from punching his agent. With a satisfied smile at Aaron’s reaction, Derek leans back against the seat as Aaron backs out of his driveway.

“How’s your head?” Aaron asks after they drive for a couple of minutes in silence. “It’s fine, doesn’t hurt too bad. Although taking me to a stadium filled with screaming people will surely cause me a headache.” Derek says and Aaron groans at his stupidity. What was he thinking? Yeah, let’s bring fresh off a concussion Derek Morgan to a baseball game so that his head can hurt some more. Way to go Aaron.

“Damn it,” Aaron says and Derek pats his thigh. “It’s fine, I’ll be fine, let’s go Hotch.”

~

When they get to the game, it takes at least five years for them to find a parking spot. After driving down one of the rows Derek suddenly points out an empty spot at the front. “RIGHT THERE!” He screeches, causing Aaron to jump from the sudden outburst. “What the hell Derek, you can’t just scream while I’m driving!” Aaron yells at him, and Derek shrugs unapologetically, before pointing to a parking spot. “That’s reserved, Derek.” Aaron says with a glare, sighing as he sees another car swoop in and takes a spot that he could already be in if it weren’t for Derek _‘let’s give Aaron a heart attack ’_ Morgan. “Yeah for _Law Enforcement Officers_ ,” Derek says and Aaron reads the sign. “ _We’re_ law enforcement,” Aaron says, and Derek slaps his shoulder. “Damn right we are!” Aaron smiles and maneuvers his SUV into the parking space. Once he’s parked Derek realizes there’s a fault to that space. “Wait, we’re not in an official vehicle. This car is unmarked.” He says and Aaron shrugs. “I have a bumper sticker.” He says like it’s the most normal thing in the world, and gets out of the SUV. “He has a bumper sticker,” Derek repeats, trying to wrap his head around the alien that is his boss. “We’re so going to get a ticket.” He mutters, before stepping out of the car.

The light from the sun causes him to wince, and he goes to grab the sunglasses from his shirt. Aaron looks every bit like a Dad with his sunglasses perched on his head. “You brought your gun to a baseball game?” Derek asks incredulously and Aaron stops in his tracks. “You didn’t?” He questions, and Derek shrugs. “You do realize we’re going through a metal detector right. How come we didn’t think this through?” Derek asks and Aaron smiles. “I have t-shirts in the trunk!” He exclaims, a little too excitedly for Derek, earning an irritated glare from the younger man. “What do t-shirts have to do with us not being frisked by security the second we walk through that line?” Derek asks and gets his answer when Aaron produces two FBI shirts, one long sleeved and the other with no sleeves. Derek reaches for the long sleeved one, to Aaron’s surprise (and dismay) leaving him with the sleeveless one. “Oh come on! Really Derek?” Aaron whines and Derek is really surprised at his boss’ foreign behavior today. Who knew Aaron Hotchner could be such a child?

“It’s cold, and I’m already wearing a long sleeve, so leave me alone. Show off those muscles of yours for a change Hotch.” Derek grins at Aaron’s obvious chagrin. “I hate you.” The older man mumbles, and Derek shrugs. “That’s a lie, you love me,” Derek says, and then upon realizing his words both men pause and the silence is excruciating. Aaron clears his throat and decides the best way to break the ice is by taking his shirt off and putting the other on. Derek follows his lead, replacing his shirt with the new one, and sliding the shirt down over his gun. “I think you just like seeing me in your clothes because literally all we have to do is show them our credentials,” Derek says after adjusting his sunglasses and Aaron grins. “Alright you caught me, I had ulterior motives.” Derek shrugs before throwing his other shirt in the trunk. “All you had to do was ask.”

Together, the two walk toward the gates, an easy banter back and forth accompanying them. Turns out Aaron is really funny, although Derek already knew this from ages of working with the man, it was refreshing when the man actually let loose for a change. Aaron Hotchner has seen enough shit for a lifetime, and it’s no wonder why he lost his easygoing smile. Which makes moments like these much more important to Derek, who can’t remember his boss ever smiling as much as he is now. Plus the fact that he’s smiling at Derek, _because_ of Derek? Icing on the cake.

As they watch the game together they joke and yell at the opposing team, and when a ball flies towards the two, Aaron extends his long arm and catches it, getting a grin from Derek that turns into shock as the man literally jumps up and down in excitement. “Jack is going to love this!” The older man exclaims, and Derek chuckles as he shakes his head. Aaron heads to the concession right before a timeout, and the Kiss Cam comes on causing the stadium to erupt in loud cheers. The camera shoots over to two people sitting beside each other, an older interracial couple, and Derek smiles as the white man takes the black lady’s cheek and they share a tender kiss. That brings on another wave of cheers, and Derek can feel a headache creeping up slowly.

The next couple is two teenagers, the girl looking away shyly as the camera zeroes in on the two joined hands. The boy whispers something reassuring Derek guesses because seconds later she’s leaning in and they share a quick kiss. Before the camera can find another couple the announcer comes over the mic. “Please join in the Blue Jay’s support of our LGBTQ community as we celebrate this Pride Month!” In a volume that was sure to make Aaron’s bad ear twitch a little, the stadium roars with whoops and hollers of joy as the camera makes its way to a lesbian couple, who hold a baby girl between them. They share a quick kiss, and then they both kiss a cheek of the baby which makes Derek grin widely. As the Kiss Cam is searching for another couple, Aaron decides to make his appearance with two large cups, nachos big enough for both of them, and some peanuts of course. Derek reaches out and snatches up the nachos, earning a glare from Aaron as the younger man refuses to help any further while Aaron balances all three items in his hands. “Thank you for all of your help Derek, truly I didn’t think I could hold them any longer.” The older man says sarcastically, which goes completely ignored by Derek as he is already picking at the nachos. Aaron settles down in his seat to the left of Derek, shoving the man’s drink towards him while he snatches a chip that Derek was in the process of putting in his mouth.

“Hey!” Derek exclaims, and Aaron chews on the chip victoriously, and it’s only then do they realize that they’re being watched. “Would you look at those two, Joe does that say FBI? Give it up for all of our Law Enforcement Officials in the house today!” The announcer yells, and the crowd’s cheer is louder than ever, causing Derek to wince at the sharp pain that surges in his head. “A beautiful couple aren’t they? Why not share a kiss for the cam?” The announcer goes again, and only then do the two Special Agents realize that they’re still on camera. The two look between each other and shake their head at the same time, causing an eruption of ‘boos’ that the two shrug at. “Come on guys don’t hold out, DO IT FOR THE CAM!” The announcer yells again, followed by cheers and Aaron glances at Derek before moving to kiss the other man’s cheek.

Once again the two are met by boos and reprimand from the announcer, so with an annoyed growl, Derek tilts his head to meet Aaron’s retreating lips, catching the man off guard. Aaron would love more than ever to get lost in Derek’s lips, but the loud cheers remind him of where they are and after another second or so he pulls back, tilting his head at the camera with a look that asks, “are you happy now?”

Finally, the camera moves away from the two and the crowd settles once more as the game resumes. Aaron eyes Derek warily, and the other man scratches his head while awkwardly clearing his throat. They don’t speak for the rest of the game. It’s not an uncomfortable silence of course, yet neither of the two knows what to say.

The Blue Jays end up winning, and the crowd lets out a loud victorious cheer, causing Derek to wince. Aaron notices, and as he notices people setting up fireworks he nudges Derek. “Let’s get out of here, yeah?” He asks, and the younger agent nods gratefully, before pulling himself up out of the seat. The two walk back to the car, Jack’s baseball in Derek’s hand, and a giant foam finger in Aaron’s. Derek settles into the passenger seat and leans his head against the window. “Where to now?” He asks when Aaron settles into the driver’s seat and starts the car.

“Food, what else?” Aaron asks, and Derek smiles, shutting his eyes as his partner backs out of their parking space.

Derek doesn’t stir as Aaron gets nearer to the restaurant, so Aaron takes the liberty of calling in their order to go. It’s 4:30 by the time he pulls up to Chili’s and Derek is still asleep so he gets out and runs into the restaurant, paying quickly before hopping back into the car and heading to Rossi’s to steal some wine. Throughout it, all Derek is snoring away, and at one point Aaron has to check the other man’s pulse and make sure the idiot didn’t accidentally die or something stupid like that. As he pulls into his driveway and notices his partner still asleep, he gets the greatest idea. With the car still running, he runs into the house and hides the food in the refrigerator, while stashing the wine in a cabinet as quickly as he can, and rushing back to the car. He hops in and turns the engine off, shaking Derek awake.

Derek’s eyes flutter for a moment before finally opening. “Come on Morgan, we’re here.” After a moment of getting himself up, Derek manages to get out of the car, stretching when he does, and Aaron quickly rushes him into the house afterward, urging Derek upstairs to rest some more while he “cooks.”

After about 30 minutes of setting up the dining area, and taking all the food out of the containers and putting them on plates, Aaron heads back upstairs to find Derek laying flat on his face on the bed. “Are you dead?” Aaron asks and pokes Derek’s back, which earns him a bemused look as Derek turns over. “No, I was just trying to give you a moment to “cook,” Derek says, and Aaron frowns at Derek’s fingers that just made fake quotation marks. “What is with the quotation marks?” He says crossing his arms and Derek laughs as he sits up. “Come on Aaron, just because I was asleep doesn’t mean I wasn't aware of my surroundings, which is how I know we made two stops on the way before we got here. I know we stopped at Chili’s because I could hear you on the phone, and I know we stopped at Rossi’s from the crunch of the gravel as we drove up his driveway.” He says with a knowing look, and Aaron rolls his eyes. “I don’t know whether to be impressed or pissed,” Aaron says, and Derek grins, before wrapping his arms around Aaron and pulling the older man in between his legs. “I’ll take the first one, but it should be no surprise Aaron, what type of Agent do you take me to be?” Derek asks, and Aaron smiles before dipping his head down and placing a small kiss on the younger man’s lips. “A damn fine one, now get dressed before the food gets cold...again.” He says the last part sheepishly and ducks out of the room, hearing Derek’s laughter all the way down the steps.

~  
After eating they end up on the couch “watching” a football game. Derek can’t be certain who is winning, hell whose even playing at this point because maybe a minute into the game Aaron was all over him, thus distracting Derek. Aaron is doing wonders with his mouth on Derek’s neck, and Derek can feel his lower regions waking up, but apparently, he’s late to the party because he’s certain that’s not Aaron’s gun against his leg. “Should we uh, um should we take this up-upstairs?” Derek manages to stutter out, his senses starting to go into overdrive after Aaron takes a bite near his pulse, then sucks to soothe it.

“Mhm.” The older man says, unmoving and still carrying out his assault on Derek’s neck with his lips. Derek gently pushes Aaron backward and the older man groans but stands regardless, and together they make their way up the stairs, however, Aaron can’t keep his hands off of Derek the entire way up almost leading to Derek falling back down the stairs.

As soon as they’re in reach of the bed, Derek is shoved backward onto it, quickly bracing himself for the contact his head is about to make, only to feel the soft cushion of pillows. He opens his eyes to find Aaron smirking down at him and Derek rolls his eyes. “What? You didn’t think I’d just forget about your injury? Why would I give another blow to your head?” He says, and then Derek can see a light bulb go off in the older man’s head. The only warning Aaron gives is a quick smirk before he drops to his knees in front of Derek and makes quick work of pulling down the younger agent’s sweats, earning a curse from the other man. “I do know one head that I won’t mind blowing.” He says, and before Derek can react Aaron swallows him whole, earning a moan from his lover. “Fuck Aaron!” Derek grunts and Aaron can’t answer as he bobs his head on Derek’s thick length.

Aaron had never given someone a blow job before, so he was working off of what he liked. He licks around the tip, which causes Derek to shudder, so he does it again, and brings his hands up to give some attention to Derek’s balls. At his sides, Derek’s hands twitch, and Aaron knows what the younger man wants, but is denying himself. After a quick swirl of his tongue around the veins on Derek’s cock, the older man takes one of his hands and guides Derek’s hands to the back of his head. Aaron watches the way Derek’s eyes darken as theirs make contact, and before he can blink, Derek is thrusting his hips up, shoving his thick length down Aaron’s throat and Aaron hums around it as not to gag. The vibration makes Derek’s legs shudder, and his hands fall back to his side, leaving Aaron to guide the younger man to his finish. Making sure to keep eye contact the entire time, Aaron slowly guides Derek’s dick back into his mouth, only he keeps going, loving the feeling of Derek in the back of his throat. “Fuck fuck fuck.” Derek chants and his hands are fisted at his sides as he watches his lover deep throat him. Aaron slides one of his hands up the expanse of Derek’s chest, and takes one of his nipples in his fingers and squeezes, causing Derek to gasp, and Aaron takes that moment to swallow around his lover’s cock, and that does it. “Aaron, I’-” Derek tries to push Aaron off before he can come, and Aaron slaps his hands away, swallowing as Derek comes down his throat. Aaron barely has the time to react before Derek is pulling him up and crashing his lips back onto his. “You’re so fucking hot you know that?” Derek asks when they finally pull away.

Derek starts to reach for the front of Aaron’s pants when the older man pulls away. “No.” He says, and Derek frowns. “What’s wrong?” The younger man asks, and Aaron blushes a little. “I want you to fuck me.” He says, completely throwing Derek off. “I- are you sure? I don’t want to hurt you.” Derek says and Aaron smiles, before pressing another kiss against Derek’s lips.

“I trust you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I had to end it right there, don't worry though as I type, there is currently an open document for Chapter 17 which will start right where we left off so don't worry, on another note, Happy Christmas Eve Eve! I truly hope everyone enjoyed this chapter, it could've been better but I didn't want to make you guys wait any longer so here you have it. ~ Kaitlyn


	17. As the Plot Unravels

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there is finally smut, I feel really awkward about the beginning scene but I'm going to leave it up to you guys to tell me how you felt about it, reading smut is completely different to actually writing it, so I tried my best, let's hope it was enough oop.

The temperature in the rooms gets impossibly hotter after Aaron utters those three words.

“I trust you,” Aaron says with complete sincerity, making sure that Derek understands what he wants, what he’s willing to let Derek have. Despite his words, Aaron can tell that Derek is still unsure, and so he grabs the back of Derek’s neck and guides him toward his lips, hoping to ease some of the other man’s uncertainty with a kiss. Derek gives in and Aaron can feel some of the ebony man’s tension go away. Aaron lets his hands travel the expanse of Derek’s back as Derek explores his mouth, and the younger man jumps as Aaron slaps his ass. “Topping from the bottom are we?” Derek asks, sitting back on top of Aaron’s legs, not missing the way Aaron’s hips jolt a bit when Derek’s ass brushes his cock. “I’d much prefer bottoming from the bottom, but it seems like you’re scared,” Aaron says, and has what’s got to be classified as a moment of insanity as he takes the hand of Derek’s that is still resting on his chest, and sucks the pointer finger into his mouth, noting the sharp intake of breath from his lover as he does so. “No need for lube now, Derek come on.” He says, and Derek is finally convinced as he rises from on top of Aaron’s legs and scoots backward. Aaron feels his heart start thrumming in his chest, and he thinks _yes, finally_! Derek gets off the bed and disappears into the bedroom and Aaron will deny it later but he lets out an honest to God _whine_ at the back of his lover. “Oh hush, Aaron. Despite your impatience, we _do_  need lube to do this effectively and it’s not my fault you keep it in your cabinet.” Derek explains a little too smugly, however his smirk drops once he sees what Aaron is doing with his hands, more specifically his fingers and where they are placed.

The sight before him is one that will forever be imprinted in his mind, as Derek watches Aaron Hotchner, strong, stoic leader of the BAU finger _himself_ ,  with his legs splayed out and face flushed. “Okay okay I get it,” the younger man says before rushing to the bed and taking over for his lover. Derek pushes Aaron’s hands out of the way and uses his hands to push Aaron’s cheeks open, exposing the small pink hole and Derek can’t help wanting a taste, so he leans forward and lets his tongue dart out and Aaron groans at the surprising sensation. Noticing Aaron’s reaction, Derek dips his head down for a taste again, this time swirling his tongue around the small hole, before pushing his tongue in, making Aaron’s legs shake. “F...uck Derek.” Aaron groans as Derek starts to tongue fuck him, all the while keeping Aaron’s legs high above his head. Distantly Aaron can hear the small pop of the lube opening, yet it doesn’t quite register until he feels the tip of one of Derek’s fingers poking at his entrance, Derek’s tongue having moved slightly upwards as to make room for the finger. Aaron groans as the tip of the finger become the whole finger, thrusting into his anus along with Derek’s hand, and soon enough Derek’s tongue is replaced with a second finger, and then a third and Derek brushes against what’s presumably Aaron’s prostate and Aaron suddenly sees stars. Derek is so hard he is literally in pain, and noticing how Aaron is starting to push back onto his finger, Derek gathers that his lover is prepped enough.

The younger man removes his fingers, and Aaron damn near lets out another whine until he hears Derek. “Play with yourself.” Derek demands, his uncertainty no more as he prepares to dominate his superior. At Derek’s authoritative tone Aaron lets out a deep groan, pushing his fingers down to where Derek’s had previously been and starts fucking himself while Derek watches. Derek slips the condom and squirts some more lube onto his dick before pushing Aaron’s hands away. “If it hurts at all you tell me to stop alright.” Derek says and pecks Aaron on the lips before slowly pressing forward. “Morgan get in me, _now_.” Aaron demands and Derek glares at the older man before pressing his tip at the entrance and pausing. “I’m doing the fucking here, so hush.” He says sternly and pulls back slightly when he feels Aaron trying to push against his tip. He waits a beat, then another watching as Aaron’s chest heaves heavily with his arousal. He waits one more second, right until he sees Aaron’s mouth start to move before sliding into the tight heat. “Derek get insid-” The rest of Aaron’s commands go silent as his mouth forms an ‘O’ and his eyes shut tightly. Derek has to keep from snapping his hips forward as he lets Aaron adjust to his size. That, however, doesn’t stop him from taunting the older man. “I’m sorry what was that? I couldn’t hear you.” He murmurs smugly, and it’s a revelation to how far gone Aaron is that he doesn’t get a snarky comeback, instead, Aarons lets out a throaty groan, before opening his eyes and staring at Derek who takes the hint and starts to move. Using all of his strength Derek glides out as slowly as possible, before slowly going back in, keeping the slow pace which is driving Aaron crazy, if the small mewls and trembling legs are anything to go by. The speed isn’t only driving Aaron crazy, it’s taking all of Derek’s willpower not to slam into Aaron, and fuck him right through the bed. As he thrusts in he leans down to give Aaron a kiss, only Aaron whispers two words.

“Fuck me.”   
He says, right as Derek finds his prostate, making Aaron arch his back, and something about the scene possesses Derek into complying. With animal-like strength he pulls out and flips Aaron over, earning a moan from the older man who can’t help but find the display of strength sexy. “Hold on to the headboard, don’t move your hands unless I tell you.” Derek says from behind him, and if it's even possible, Aaron gets _harder_. After making sure that Aaron has a good grip, Derek plunges into him, causing Aaron to let out a high pitched groan, and Derek vows to make Aaron scream before they’re done. Derek wraps one arm around Aaron’s waist while the other goes under Aaron’s arm and pulls the older man back against Derek, who takes it upon himself to feast on Aaron’s neck. Aaron whose groans are becoming moans, and who is giving just as much as he is taking by pushing back onto Derek who is having a hard time holding on.

Derek changes the angle of his hips, and thrusts up making Aaron let out a loud curse, and Derek can hear how close Aaron is, so with the arm that’s wrapped around the other’s waist, Derek takes his hand and gathers the thick cock in his hand, loving the shiver that courses through his lover’s body at the touch. With amazing multitasking abilities, Derek jacks Aaron’s heavy cock to match the same as his thrusts, and even manages to squeeze one of his lover’s nipples with his arm. If you take all of that, plus his cock constantly fucking into Aaron’s prostate it’s only a matter of time. “De- Derek I’m, I-” Aaron shudders and Derek whispers in his ear. “Come on for me baby, _come on_.”

With one last thrust to his lover’s prostate, Aaron comes with an actual scream, and Derek keeps thrusting, chasing his own release. “Fuck fuck fuck.” The younger agent groans, and Aaron the sly bastard who is still “recovering” clenches his ass around Derek’s length and Derek comes with a shout, making Aaron groan at the sensation. Derek lays his head on Aaron’s exposed back, and pauses for a moment, before gathering himself and slowly pulling out, causing Aaron to let out a hiss as he’s still very sensitive. Derek apologizes with a kiss, and then he removes the condom, ties it and throws it in the trash, before disappearing into the bathroom and returning with a warm washcloth and he starts wiping Aaron off, who still has his hands on the headboard. After replacing the sheets, Derek climbs in beside Aaron, who still in his post-coital mood is very docile, and allows himself to be pulled against Derek, who places a kiss to the older man’s forehead. “Thank you.” Derek whispers and Aaron sighs dreamily before allowing himself to sleep against his human-sized pillow, by the name of Derek Morgan.

~   
Kade Bryant watches in disgust as the two men lay fast asleep after fucking like no tomorrow. “I could take him out right now sis, all of our sufferings would be over.” He says into the cellphone after he puts his binoculars down. “No, we need to make _him_ suffer, make them _both_ suffer for all of the pain they’ve caused us. Remember the plan.” Beth reminds her brother from the other end of the phone, where she is doing a bit of recon herself. Parked in front of Jessica Brooks’ house. She hears the frustrated sigh from the other end and rolls her eyes. “You do remember the plan don’t you?” She asks, eyes narrowing as she watches Jennifer Jareau exit the house with Henry and her husband will. Jessica stands at the door with a smile and waves to the other blonde, while Jack dashes forward and gives one last hug to Henry. All the adults coo at the cute scene while Beth only sneers in disgust. That little shit thinks he deserves all of the attention in the world? Well, he’s got another thing coming. Beth Clemmons does not _share_.

Kade glances down at the hard-on he’d ashamedly got whilst snooping. He sighs again and mumbles a ‘yes’ before hanging up. Beth glances at her phone, and looks back up, just in time to see Jennifer give a suspicious glance at her car, so with that Beth starts the car and drives past, noticing the shared look between Will and his wife, and thinks, “shit!” Jennifer a profiler and Will a seasoned detective would have no problem figuring her out. She circles the block and pulls into an empty driveway, waiting about 15 minutes before returning to her spot. Now, she waits.

~  
Derek stirs as he hears the familiar tone of a cell phone ringing. Aaron does too, as his still sleeping face contorts into a frown, and the older man mentally prepares himself for another case. Derek realizes it’s his phone and encourages Aaron to go back to sleep, his heart fluttering a little at the small smile the sleeping man gives him. Despite the insistent ringing of his phone, Derek can’t help leaning forward and pressing a tender kiss on Hotch’s forehead, while also, unbeknownst to him of course, giving Officer Kade a full view of his naked ass, which does little to help his hard-on, causing him to sneer at the agent once more. Derek answers the call, while pulling on some sweats, and heads out of the room as not to disturb Aaron.

“Morgan.” He says, not bothering to acknowledge his caller. “Derek, look, I can’t explain what’s been going on these last couple of weeks but you need to get here asap!” She urges over the phone, and Derek’s eyes narrow at the panic in her tone. “I’m busy Agent Prentiss, what is it?” He asks, ignoring her small gasp at his calling her by her formal title. “Okay, I noticed you’ve been looking into Beth Clemmons, Hotch’s ex, and I felt bad for how I’ve been acting and decided to do a little digging. Turns out her ex-husband pressed charges against her for Stalking, and Conspiracy to commit murder, however before he could testify he went missing, along with his young daughter.” Derek’s eyes widen and he rushes back into the room to find Aaron still sleeping soundly before he notices an unmarked car parked across the street. “Emily get agents over to Jessica’s house right now!” Derek barks into the phone as he pulls on one of Aaron’s FBI tee shirts, and takes a second glance at the car. Aaron jumps up at the sound of his sister-in-law’s name and judging from the look on Derek’s face he knows something is wrong. “Derek, what is it?” Aaron says quickly jumping up, and Derek quickly closes the blinds, throwing clothes at Aaron. “Beth is crazy, I think she might be going after Jack.” He says, and his heart breaks at the way Aaron’s face drops. “Get dressed quickly, I’m going to check something out.” Derek says, and grabs his car keys and gun.”

He slips into some of his slides and makes his way out of the front door, gun at the ready, looking both ways as he steps over the threshold. He’s halfway to the mysterious car when he feels a presence behind him, and he turns a second too late as he takes a hard blow to the back of his head, incapacitating him immediately. “Come on Agent Morgan, we have places to be.” Kade Bryant says to the unconscious Derek Morgan, before quickly stuffing him into the backseat of his car. Kade obviously miscalculates just how heavy a 6’1, 200 lb of pure muscle as it takes him longer than necessary to get the agent into his car, and he clearly miscalculates just how quickly Aaron would notice something is up because just as he closes the door, he has to duck to miss the bullet that Aaron Hotchner sends his way, face red with fury as Officer Kade hops into his still running car and presses on the gas. Aaron drops to a squat in an attempt to hit one of the tires but misses because Officer Bryant swerves to avoid any bullets. “Shit shit shit, this is _not_ happening!” Aaron says after running to his car and noticing the tires are slashed, as well as Derek’s. He hits the hood of his Suburban. “FUCK!” He yells, running his hands through his hair.

His neighbors start to come out after the commotion, and he vaguely remembers one of them asking if he’s alright, only he ignores it as he notices Derek’s phone is ringing. Aaron rushes over to the cell phone, which is lying on the ground beside Derek’s SIG, and answers. “Derek? It’s too late, they got Jack.” Emily says over the phone and Aaron can’t hide the sob that he’d been fighting this entire time. Emily’s brows furrow on the other end of the phone. “Derek?” She asks, and her stomach drops as her boss speaks. “No, they got Derek too.” He says, and Emily’s mouth goes wide in shock at the hurt she can hear in the other man’s voice. “Call everybody else in, and send a car to come get me,” Aaron demands, before hanging up and Emily does just that.

Aaron grabs his lover’s abandoned SIG off of the ground and heads back into his house to prepare for what’s got to be the worst day in his life, the only thing keeping him sane being the assumption that Jack and Derek are going to the same place, and no matter how injured or beaten, Derek Morgan would lay his life down for Jack Hotchner. Aaron doesn’t know whether that thought makes him grateful or sad, but he forces himself not to think about it as he gets dressed, grabbing cargo pants instead of slacks, along with some combat boots and a dark long-sleeved muscle shirt, even bringing out his old thigh holster. Beth Clemmons and Kade Bryant had another thing coming if they thought they were going to get away with hurting the ones he loved most.

 _Don’t worry boys, I’m coming._ Aaron vows, glancing at the small framed picture of him, Derek and Jack, before heading out into the awaiting federal Suburban.

_I’m coming._

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two words: thigh holster
> 
> Can you believe, Aaron Hotchner, wearing an honest to God thigh holster, and Cargo pants if I didn't know any better I'd think we were in the H50 fandom, and that I was describing Steve McGarrett. When Aaron pulls out the thigh holster, shit gets serious. I'm going to work on the 18th chapter, and hopefully by Christmas wherever you are I'll have at least the next two chapters done, leaving only one left to go :) Hope you enjoyed, leave feedback!


	18. Revelations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you all had a great Christmas! Apologies for the late Christmas Present, but it literally took me all day and THEN some just to write this chapter, and it's currently 2:52 AM and I am so drained you guys. Anyways, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, we still have 2 or 3 left so stay tuned. Merry Chrysler everybody! ~ Kaitlyn

Derek comes to when he’s yanked out of the backseat of Officer Bryant’s car, and he only has a split second to act. He overplays his disorientation, blinking excessively and going limp as Officer Bryant tries to haul him to his feet, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Kade Bryant sighs in frustration at not being strong enough to grab the older man and steps back for a moment to catch his breath and roll up his sleeves, looking every which way as he does. Derek takes advantage of the lowly cop’s lack of focus, and pulls the strength out of every corner of his body, and wills himself to stand quickly, before recalling his old football skills, and tackling the unsuspecting idiot with all his might, grinning in satisfaction at the groan of pain he receives from the other man. He’s just about to knock the man out when he gets another blow to the back of his head and _really_? _Not again_.

Beth glares down at her brother who is rubbing his head confusedly. “ _Really_ Kade?” She questions, and he rolls his eyes as he gets to his feet. “What? He’s huge.” He says, and Beth gives him a wry smile. “Yeah, and how do you feel about that?” She asks, suggestively raising her eyebrows and Kade scowls at her as he gathers Derek’s hands and ties them together. “Fuck you.” He grumbles at her, and she smiles cheekily as she walks past him. “Sorry, we’re not _that_ close Kade, besides I’m obviously the wrong gender.” She says and skips towards the direction of the warehouse, unaware of the middle finger that was meant for her. “Crazy bitch,” Kade mumbles as he finally manages to get Derek Morgan tied up, and starts dragging him to the door where his sister waits holding it open. “Dump him in the room as far away from the kid as possible.” She orders and Kade nods, pulling the limp body all the way down the hall, past the 2nd door which held the unconscious agent’s nephew. Derek comes to much quicker this time, feeling a heartbeat between his eyes and he just knows he has a severe head injury. He takes in his surroundings, and notices he’s in a warehouse, probably somewhere secluded if the lack of cars his subconscious heard on the drive here are anything to go by. He’s being pulled down a hallway, one with several doors on each side and notices the 2nd one to his left is slightly ajar, and he sees the top of a blonde head and immediately knows who it belongs to. Jack’s eyes widen as he watches Derek being pulled past and Derek gives him a reassuring smile, one that does little in regards to reassuring the young boy.

“Uncle Derek!” Jack exclaims, rushing to the door only to be shoved back roughly by Beth, landing with a small “ow,” that instantly enrages Derek. “DON’T PUT YOUR FUCKING HANDS ON HIM!” Derek yells, thrashing around, and Beth simply smiles at the man before closing the door which held ½ of Derek’s heart. “Don’t worry Jack, I’ll get you out!” Derek yells as Officer Bryant hauls him the rest of the way down the hall and out of sight.

_I’ll get you, buddy, don’t worry._

* * *  
The rest of the BAU gather in the conference room, eyes filled with worry as they watch their boss once more go through the worry of his son not being safe, as well as their own teammate. “Damn it!” Jennifer yells suddenly whilst everybody is on their different devices working to track down Jack and Derek. At her outburst, everybody looks up at her, and Jennifer can’t be bothered to explain as she runs her hands over her face. “Jennifer?” David questions and the blonde woman sighs. “This is all my fault.” She says, sitting down in one of the chairs and burying her face in her hands.

Aaron glances over at the petite woman with furrowed eyebrows. “What do you mean J.J.? You couldn’t have know-“ Garcia begins and Jennifer looks up, eyes watery. “I saw her, when we left Jessica’s house, I saw a suspicious car parked across the street, it’d been there when we dropped Henry off when we went in to eat and it was still there when we left. Even Will thought something was up and I didn-“ she cuts herself off, looking up at her boss with a look of despair. “I didn’t do anything until it was too late.” She says, quickly wiping a tear. Aaron crosses the room and sits in the chair next to her, putting his hand on top of hers.

“Did you or did you _not_ call for a patrol car to scan the area, the same patrol car who found Jessica beaten badly and discovered that my child was missing, all within a matter of _minutes_. Jennifer, it’s okay to feel bad but you are not going to blame this on yourself, this is not your fault.” Aaron says, grabbing her hand to emphasize his point. “Right, sorry,” Jennifer says with a sniff, before wiping her eyes.

“Has anybody heard from Reid?” Prentiss asks as she joins the rest of them in the conference room, faltering in her step as she meets the gaze of a glaring Aaron Hotchner. “Don’t tell me he’s missing too?” Rossi says, worry very evident in his face. “Well he’s been staying at my place ever since..the incident and Morgan kicked him out, but he didn’t come home last night, and when I checked this morning he still wasn't there.” She explains and Aaron looks to Penelope. “Pinging his location right now sir.” She says, typing into her laptop. “Weird, his phone is turned off.” She says, and Aaron lets out a breath. “Garcia update the BOLO and add Spencer. Reid’s phone is never turned off, so we have to assume that Beth and Kade have him as well,” Aaron says, and turns to face Emily. “You, in my office. _Now_.” Aaron demands and Emily all but gulps as she follows him out of the conference room, leaving the remaining members desperate in their attempt to track down their friends.

Once in his office, Aaron glares at his agent. “Where are they?” He demands, pacing as Emily stands near his door, trying to make herself smaller. “I don’t kn-” She starts, and stops when Aaron slams his hand down on his desk. “You know what I’m talking about Emily! What the hell have you been doing huh? Ever since Derek and I started getting closer the two of you have been behaving weirdly, and the way you’ve been treating him as not escaped me. Why are there more calls between you and my ex-girlfriend than there was between her and _myself_?” Aaron inquires, and he knows something is terribly wrong when he notices a tear drop from Emily’s eye.

“I don’t know Hotch. I don’t _know_ what she’s doing but she’s in my _head_.” She says, sounding utterly broken and Aaron watches as she breaks down completely in front of him. “I don’t know how she did it, but she convinced me that Derek was plotting against you, and wanted to _hurt you_ , and I couldn’t let him do that I couldn’t. You’re one of the best people I kno- I couldn’t let Derek hurt you.” She says, voice cracking while Aaron guides her to the sofa in his office. “Derek wasn’t _hurting_ me, Emily,” Aaron says, heart racing as he thinks of all the things that could be happening to _his son_ right now. _His Derek_. “Spencer got it much worse, you know how close he and Derek are. I didn’t think she’d be able to convince him to turn against his best friend, yet she did. Feeding us lies about how Derek was using Jack to manipulate you, making Spencer believe that Derek was going to abandon Spencer, and you know his issues with abandonment.” Emily says, and Aaron can’t believe that he actually brought this woman into their lives. “I always knew somewhere in the back of my mind that this wasn’t right,” Emily starts, taking a deep breath as she looks apologetically at Aaron. “But I knew something was really wrong when Beth became obsessive, wanting to know everything about you, your whereabouts, past cases we’d worked on, and she was very insistent about wanting to know Derek’s weaknesses. I couldn’t Hotch, I couldn’t betray him like that.” She says, burying her face in her hands. “I don’t know how this happened, _how did this happen?_ ” Emily asks, sounding utterly confused and broken and Aaron can’t help wrapping his arms around her.

“I don’t know Em, I don’t know. I know for one, she’s not going to get away with this. _Not if I can help it._ ” Aaron promises her, and a knock at his door has him standing to his feet, giving Emily a moment to get herself together. When he opens the door he comes face to face with Rossi. “Garcia found something, come on.” He says, glancing around at Emily before turning and heading back to the conference room. “Stay here.” He orders, and she nods with a sniffle. He shuts the door to his office and returns to the conference room where the remaining three members of his team are waiting for him. “I tried to ping Beth and Officer Bryant’s phones and got nada. However, remember the ex-husband and his child? Well, it’s was presumed that they were dead, and we’ve never been given any other evidence to believe otherwise, until now. I was checking bank records, and these two evil siblings are surprisingly smart with appearing clean, but then I saw found that both of them make the same transaction at the end of every month, always switching between the two.” Aaron gives her a glare. “Sorry, making the story short. They’ve been getting like essential life supplies, separate from the rest of your regular groceries, and Kade slipped up and had them delivered to this location. It’s about a 2-hour drive from here, looks like a lot of woods.” Aaron shakes his head. “We don’t have that much time, Garcia call the aviation unit and get SWAT, I want to be in the sky in less than 30 minutes.” He demands, before rushing out of the room with his cell phone pressed against his ear, Rossi and Jennifer behind him, and she watches helplessly as they rush out of the room and out of sight.

“They’re going to bring our boys back. They have to.” She chants to herself before sending the coordinates to the aviation unit.

* * *  
Derek groans as he takes yet another blow to his stomach from Officer Bryant. “This should teach you to mind the business that pays you,” Kade says, before punching the still tied up Derek Morgan. “I can’t take any man who has to tie up another man to fight that seriously. You think you’re all big and bad now because you have me tied up in this chair, defenseless. Wait until I get out, then we’ll see who should have just minded their business.” Derek says, every ounce of smugness in his voice, bracing himself for another punch when Beth walks in. “Stop, he’s going to continue to taunt you until you make a mistake. We have other tools, use them.” She says, before shoving a knife into his hand. Derek immediately starts to distance himself, sooner or later Kade is going to make a mistake, and Derek will be ready when he does. Beth smiles as Kade pulls up the older man’s sleeve and makes the first slice on his underarm. “He can’t stay quiet forever.” She says after Kade has made a third slash on the brown man and he hasn’t made a single peep. “Time to check on our other guests,” She says, before exiting and heading down the hall. She peeks into a room on her left, where Spencer Reid is rocking back and forth and chanting. “Can’t let him leave me. Can’t let him leave me. Can’t let him leave me.” The young doctor mutters as he clutches his knees, rocking back and forth in the corner. Beth smiles sadistically before closing his door. She continues walking down the hall and makes a stop on her right, peeking in at her longtime guests. The young girl has grown much over the years, and her father looking much more tired than he was when they first met. “How’s my little family?” She asks, and the man who’d been watching over his sleeping daughter looks up quickly. “Screw you.” He says, face filled with rage and Beth fake gasps. “Now, is that any way you speak to a woman?” She asks dramatically, chuckling when he flips her off. “No, but it’s the way I speak to a bitch.” He says, voice laced with hate and she frowns. “I hope you remember that when you’re feeling hungry later.” She says, before closing the door and cutting off his curse.

She makes her final stop two doors down, where the youngest captive sits in the corner, back to the wall, every bit like his father. “Hey Jack, are you hungry?” She asks sweetly, and Jack shakes his head no. “Do you want something to drink?” She asks, jaw slightly ticking as he ignores her. “Jack you’re being rude.” She says, and he hides his face with his hands. “Stop being such a brat.” She says, moving to grab his hand, screaming in pain when the little boy bites her hand. “You little shit!” She yells, and slaps him, making the little boy wail in pain, before his mouth gets all wobbly and he begins to cry. “You shouldn’t be rude to your host Jack.” She says condescendingly as she shakes her hand, teeth marks still fresh. The little boy is still wailing loudly, and she sighs frustratedly. “Fine, be that way.” She says, before slamming his door, the young boy’s cries being heard throughout the entire room. The older man two doors down perks up at the sound. “That crazy bitch, she’s got someone else.” He mutters in despair, holding his daughter tighter as he hears the pained cries of whatever child Beth Clemmons has decided to torment now.

The cries are so loud they bring Derek back to the present, feeling helpless as he hears the little guy cry. “What the fuck is your sister doing!” He yells suddenly, startling Kade. “Who knows, she’s a crazy son of a bitch.” Bryant offers, before dropping the knife and staring at Derek. “What are you doing this for man? There’s no way that little incident brought on all this hatred. What are you getting from this?” Derek asks, looking directly into the other man’s eyes, shocked at the amount of hatred he sees behind them. “Actually nevermind, I think I know what you’re getting from this. You’re getting off on it aren’t you?” Derek asks, internally whooping as he notices a flicker of affirmation cross his attacker’s eyes. “Shut the fuck up man,” Kade says, rolling his sleeves back up and avoiding eye contact. Derek laughs. “Wow, all of this, just because you can’t come to terms with your sexuality? Man the world really is crazy.” Derek says, and he watches as Kade clenches his fist. “Shut up.” He says, yet Derek continues. “If you like dick you like dick, there’s nothing wrong with being a cocksucker.” He says, and Kade finally looks up at him. “I mean, I would know. Something tells me you’ve had a bad experience with your sexuality hm? What was it an abusive father who tried to beat it out of you? Or maybe it was getting called a fag by all of the boys on the football team,” Derek continues, watching as Kade increasingly becomes angrier, and then he gasps. “I know! I bet you were just an experiment with your best friend in college and he dropped you right after fucking your brains out, right?” Derek asks and is rewarded with a punch to his jaw, the force of which knocks the chair he’s in over. He lands on the ground with a thud and winces at the kicks he gets to his gut from the heavy steel work boots that he’s wearing. There goes a rib. Derek thinks vaguely as he feels a sickening crunch from his midsection. “Shut the fuck up!” Kade yells, emphasizing each word with another kick. Derek eyes the knife just in front of him, and quickly inches up, turning his back to the knife as he tries to defend himself from the kicks of the sexually confused/frustrated man in front of him. Once he has the knife between his fingers he makes quick work of cutting off the ropes, watching in mock horror as Kade throws what can only be classified as a glorified temper tantrum, and throws the chair against the wall. Derek grimaces at the pain from his ribs as his freshly freed arms jolt back to their normal spaces, jerking him in a painful way. Derek moves slowly, despite the man's distraction and is about to get to his feet when Beth rushes into the room. “Kade I hear helicopters!” She exclaims and Kade curses. “How did they find us?” He asks, before rushing out of the room with Beth in tow. Derek waits until he can no longer hear their footsteps before getting to his feet, knife gripped tightly in his hand, and he makes his way out into the hallway. He makes his way into the hallway and is halfway to where he remembered Jack being held when he hears the familiar cocking of a gun.

Derek turns around slowly, eyes widening in shock as he takes in the tall form of his best friend, eyes red and tired. “Spence, what are you doing?” Derek asks, holding his hands up as he takes in Reid’s shifty eyes. “Can’t let you leave me, Morgan.” Reid states and Derek shakes his head. “What are you talking about leaving you? I’m not going anywhere.” Derek says, looking around cautiously. “S-She said you were going to leave. I can’t let you leave Derek. _You can’t leave me_.” Reid says, sounding much like a child, while still pointing the gun directly at Derek. “Don’t listen to her kid, she’s manipulating you. I’m not going anywhere.” Derek explains, slowly inching closer to the younger man. “She said you’d say that you’re trying to trick me. You’re going to leave, can’t let you leave!” Reid yells pulling the trigger as Derek leaps forward, tackling him to the ground, broken ribs be damned. “What the hell are you doing!” He exclaims, snatching the gun from the younger man and knocking him out with it. He hears a scream from where Jack is and wastes no time getting up, despite every bone in his body telling him to sit back down.

Derek busts into the room that holds Jack, cursing as he sees Beth behind the boy, knife to his neck. “Beth, don’t touch him. Leave him alone. Your problem is with _me_.” Derek offers and the crazed woman shakes her head. “NO! This is _because_ of _both_ of you! You just couldn’t let me have Aaron to myself, could you? Nobody ever wants to let me have anything to myself,” she says, pulling on Jack a little tighter causing the young boy to whimper. “Uncle Derek,” he cries and Derek’s eyes start to water. “Beth, he’s just a _kid_. Leave him alone.” He says and waits for her to get distracted before taking the gun he’d confiscated from Reid and shooting her in the stomach, quickly ushering Jack out of the way. “Crazy bitch.” He mutters, kicking the knife out of the woman’s reach, ignoring her painful grunts. “Come on Jack, we got to get out of here,” Derek says, before gathering the little boy in his arms despite his body’s protest, and heading out of the room, stopping short as he hears something from one of the rooms down the hall from him.

“Hello? Is anyone there? Please help us, please.” Derek hears, and before he knows it is headed towards the noise, not one to ignore a child’s voice. He kicks the door down, an extraordinary feat considering his current injuries, and comes face to face with Lily and Rodrick Morrison. “Don’t worry, I’m with the FBI, you’ll be fin-” Derek says, only stops short as he feels a stinging pain in his abdomen. He places a hand there and brings it away with blood. “Uncle Derek?” Jack asks, and Derek places the little boy on the ground, gray dots starting to dance behind his eyes. “Don’t worry Jack, D-Daddy’s on his way.” The man manages, before sliding to the floor, hearing the shocked gasps from the other two people in his presence. “My t-team are on their way here right now, please make sure they get him,” Derek says, feeling a sudden pressure on where he’d been shot. “Uncle Derek, Uncle Derek! Don’t go to sleep, please don’t go to sleep!” Jack exclaims, tiny hands slapping the grown man’s face, tears running down his own. “Don’t worry Jack, gonna close them for just a sec,” Derek sighs, and smiles as he hears his team breach the door.

“FBI DROP YOUR WEAPONS!” Aaron yells as the team breaches the door, looking every which way as they proceed through the isolated warehouse. “I got two bodies over here!” One of the SWAT members yells, and Aaron rushes over to him, noticing an unconscious Reid, and a slowly bleeding out Beth. “Make sure she doesn’t move!” Aaron demands, nodding at Rossi who squats beside Reid, checking his pulse. Together Aaron, J.J. and two other SWAT members continue clearing the warehouse when he hears his son’s voice. “UNCLE DEREK WAKE UP! DADDY’S COMING, WAKE UP!” He hears his son yell and immediately takes off in a sprint towards it, the other agents not far behind.

Aaron busts through the door, a huge bout of relief surging through him as he sees his son unharmed. Jack looks up as the door flies open, and is on his feet instantly, rushing to his father’s arms. “I knew you’d save me, Daddy,” Jack says, arms wrapped tightly around his neck. “Are you okay kiddo?” Hotch asks, his eyes scanning for any injuries on his son. “No Daddy, but Uncle Derek won’t wake up!” Jack exclaims suddenly, ditching his father and rushing back to the unconscious Derek Morgan, and just like that Aaron’s heart stops. The SWAT members grab the other two captives, and Aaron and Jennifer rush to Derek’s side. “J.J. call for a MEDEVAC! GET THEM HERE NOW!’ He yells, and Jennifer nods, already one step ahead of him as she speaks into her earpiece, one handheld in Jack’s as they leave the room.

Aaron cradles Derek’s head, lifting it into his lap. “Derek Morgan wake up, right now. You’re not dying today okay? Wake up, can you hear me? I’m here wake up, I’m here.” Aaron says, voice cracking as is partner remains unresponsive. “Derek I know you can hear me, wake up okay? You don’t get to die today you hear me? I haven’t even gotten to tell you that I love you, Derek. Yes, I said it. I, Aaron Hotchner am so deeply in love with you I can’t think, you take over every thought, every dream and I can’t live without you okay? You don’t get to die before we get to experience life together okay, so don’t be stupid and die alright? I can’t live without you.” Aaron says while cradling his partner’s body, tears streaming freely down his face. He checks Derek’s pulse and is satisfied with how constant it is, but knows that Derek needs medical attention and fast.

Soon a couple paramedics enter the room, and Aaron helps them lift his lover onto the stretcher, following them out all the way until they get to the medical helicopter. They tell Aaron which hospital they’re headed to, and he nods, letting them leave quickly. The warehouse now has several police cars parked in front, and several dozen police officers milling about. “Hey what are you still doing here? Get the hell to the hospital!” Rossi says from behind Aaron, surprising him. “What about thi-” Aaron begins and David looks honest to God ready to punch him. “We got this, now get your boy and go to the other one,” David says, knowing look firmly on his face. Aaron nods, spotting Jennifer with his son and heads in their direction. “Keep us updated!” Rossi yells, and Aaron gives him a thumbs up. Aaron grabs Jack’s hand and together they look up at the quickly disappearing helicopter.

“Don’t worry Daddy, he’s going to be okay,” Jack says, and Aaron looks down squeezing the young boy’s hand. “I know bud,” Aaron says.

_He has to be._


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to hurry and post this before a03 shuts their servers down for a moment, so here y'all go. Kinda short but the next one should make up for it. Wow I really only have like a chapter left for this story omg. This will be the first official story I've ever finished, this is crazy. How did we get this far? This kind of hurts omg, I'll stop rambling now, happy reading everyone.

“What do you mean you can’t find him? Where the hell could he have gone?” Aaron demands over the phone, glancing back at the still asleep Derek Morgan laying on a hospital bed with various tubes and wires connected to him, Jack fast asleep next to him. “We’re going to find him, Aaron, don’t worry. You just focus on your boys, we got this.” David tells his longtime friend over the phone, and Aaron sighs. “I know you will, sorry. I’ll keep you updated.” He says, before hanging up and returning to his chair beside the bed. A nurse walks into check on Derek and offers Aaron a cot. “No need, I won’t be sleeping.” He says, and she gives him a worrying look. “He’s not going to wake up for a couple more hours, are you sure you don’t want you or your son to have a cot?” She asks again, and Aaron gives her a warm smile. “No thanks ma’am, I think Jack is just fine where he is.” He says, sparing a glance at the two of them, both he’d come very close to losing today.

After another hour or so, Jack begins to stir, so Aaron quickly grabs him so he doesn’t disturb. “Hey kiddo, how you feeling?” Aaron asks his young son, who rubs his eyes tiredly. “My head hurts Daddy.” He says, and Aaron quickly grabs a small bottle of water for his child, opening it with ease and guiding it to the boy’s lips. “I know buddy, you haven’t had anything to drink for a while so I need you to drink all of this for me okay?” Aaron asks, and Jack nods, holding the water bottle with both hands and sipping it slowly. “When you’re done we’ll go get something to eat and check on Aunt Jessica okay?” He says, and Jack nods his head excitedly, wincing a little as he remembers the pain still there.

Aaron glances to his left, where Derek is still fast asleep, bruises decorating his face and he’s surprised that the man had no hints of brain damage. What went from a mild concussion three days ago, had upgraded to a Level 3 (severe) concussion, and Derek was bound to have a headache for the next  _ week _ . His arms have several bandages around them, where doctors had found several slashes from a very sharp knife, then down to his abdomen, where there are several bruises and of course a newly added gunshot wound to join his broken ribs. Looks like Derek’s going to be out for more than six months this time.

Jack hands the now empty bottle back to his father, and together the two head towards the door, with Aaron depositing the water bottle in the green bin as he walks out. Together the father and son head to the elevator, and go down a floor, getting off and heading to Jessica’s room. When MPD had reached Jessica’s house they found the door ajar, with a bleeding Jessica on the steps, screaming for help. Aaron knocks on the door a bit, and waits until he hears his sister’s small “come in,” before entering, Jack quickly crossing the distance to her bed and leaping up onto his aunt. “Aunt Jessica! Are you okay?” He exclaims, wrapping his little arms tightly around the woman’s neck as he’d done mere hours before with his father, and even Derek. “I’m fine now that you’re here Jack, are you okay?” She asks looking the boy all over for injuries just as Aaron had done earlier. 

For the next hour or so Aaron makes sure his sister in law is okay, he’d come close to losing her today and he can’t believe that he’d brought that crazy woman into their lives. “I’m so  _ sorry _ , Jess,” Aaron starts once Jack dozes off again, cuddled into the side of the blonde woman. “Don’t start that Aaron, you’re not going to keep blaming yourself for what happens  _ because _ of others. Last I recall, you weren’t the one who got me put here, so be a big boy and suck it up. This is not your fault, and I don’t want to hear another apology from you about it.” She says sternly, and Aaron lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, giving her a grateful smile. “I’m really glad you’re okay.” He says, before wrapping his arms around her once more. “Me too.” She says, and Aaron is about to pull up a seat when Jessica stops him. “What are you doing?” She asks clearly shocked and Aaron raises his eyebrows. “I’m sitting down?” He asks, and Jessica shakes her head, smacking his hand away from the chair. “For a smart man, you sure are acting slow.” She says, rolling her eyes and Aaron is suddenly confused. “I’m not sure I’m following.” He says, crossing his arms and Jessica sighs. “Of course you’re not. Isn’t Derek in worse shape than me? Go up to him, I’m sure he’d love to hear how much you love him as soon as he wakes up.” Jessica says, and Aaron’s jaw drops open as he gapes at the older woman. “H-How did you- I only jus- How?” Aaron splutters, and Jessica throws her head back with silent laughter. “You clearly forgot who was there when you proposed to Haley, back then I could see all of the love you held for her in your eyes, and the other day when Derek had his panic attack you looked at him the same way. The only person who doesn’t know is  _ him _ , Aaron, so you go be there for him when he wakes up, we’re fine here.” She says, and he hugs her for the third time. “I love you, you know that?” He says, and she grins. “I know you goof, but I’m not the one you should be telling, so off you go!” She exclaims, pointing towards the door in an effort to get him to leave. “I’m going to order some food for you guys, make sure he eats, he’s dehydrated Jess, and water he needs to drink water-” He is cut off by a pillow smacking him in the face. “Aaron Hotchner I am literally a  _ nurse _ , stop stalling, I’ll take care of his promise.” She says, and Aaron smiles, picks up the pillow and deposits it back on her bed, and giving her a kiss on the forehead before leaving.

After ordering the food as promised, and grabbing some for himself Aaron heads back to Derek’s room, where he remains for the next several hours, taking calls and talking to his team members as he waits for the man he loves to wake up. Garcia has gracefully dropped off his laptop, and J.J. took the liberty of dropping off fresh clothes for himself and Jack, leaving balloons and stuffed animals for the young boy, as well as flowers for Jessica. A little after 7 PM David appears outside of Derek’s door, gesturing for Aaron to come here, and after a glance at his agent, Aaron crosses the distance to the door and opens it, stepping out. “How’s he doing?” Rossi asks and Aaron grimaces. “He took a serious beating, but he’s still breathing so there’s that, but because of the severity of his injuries and the surgery, the doctors said that he’d be sleeping for a long period. How’d Reid?” Aaron asks, and Rossi sighs. “They’ve got him up in the psych ward, Jennifer’s up there now keeping an eye on him while he gets his eval. Beth’s surgery went smoothly, so she’ll recover in time to go to trial. Lily and Rodrick Morrison have both been admitted, and they’re down the hall, they’re in good shape and family members are flying in as we speak. Kade Bryant is still missing but we’ll find him. In the meantime what do you suggest we do about Emily?” David reports, and Aaron takes in all the information. “Do her like Spencer, and send her for a psych eval, Reid is much more susceptible to be manipulated, and if Emily was able to be sucked in so easily as well we have to make sure they’re heads are intact,” Aaron says and Dave nods. “Alright I’ll head back to Quantico, call me when he wakes up,” Rossi says, giving Aaron a quick hug before disappearing down the hallway. 

The hours continue to fly by, and Aaron finds himself accepting the nurse’s earlier offer and getting a cot. He slips out of his combat boots and pulls the cot close to Derek’s side, before making himself as comfortable as he can, willing himself to get some rest before Derek wakes up.

It’s just past 3 in the morning when Derek begins to stir, coughing as he takes in the tube down his throat. Aaron’s head shoots up as he hears Derek struggling to breathe, and quickly presses the button for the nurse. “Derek babe, calm down, there’s a tube in your throat to help you breathe, wait a moment,” Aaron explains, grabbing Derek’s hand in his and Derek nods. Aaron uses his leg to push the cot out of the way, and still holding Derek’s hand, steps out of the way for the nurses and doctors to do their jobs. After the storm of medical workers dwindles, Derek takes the opportunity to look at Aaron. Aaron offers him water and a straw, helping him lift his bed up so he could drink properly. After drinking two bottles, Derek clears his throat before speaking. “Where is Jack? Is he okay?” Derek asks, and if Aaron was at all uncertain about his feelings for Derek before, it’d be gone now as his heart swells at the love for his kid. “Yes he’s fine, would I be here if he wasn’t?” Aaron asks, and Derek lets out a sigh of relief. “What about Reid? The little girl and her da-” Derek asks and is cut off by Aaron’s lips, and this time it’s different. All of their kisses Derek loves, only this kiss is more  _ meaningful _ like Aaron is trying to get a message across. “I love you, you know that?” Aaron says, and Derek nods. “So I wasn’t dreaming then.” He says, and Aaron stares at him in confusion. “I thought I was dreaming when I heard you to tell me, I heard everything,” Derek admits and Aaron’s cheeks get hot. 

“I can’t say I’ve ever experienced being in love, but I imagine this is what it is. You and your son have managed to barge into my life and turn my world upside down, and I find myself looking for things to say to you, and activities I can do with him, and I can say without a doubt that I am in love with you, Aaron Hotchner, and I want to make up for the lost time and spend the rest of my life with you.” Derek says, eyes widening just the slightest as he notices Aaron’s eyes watering. “I must have hit my head too many times, because I know those aren’t  _ tears _ I’m seeing.” Derek teases and Aaron rolls his eyes. “Asshole.” He mutters, leaning in just the slightest and Derek grins. 

“You love it,” Derek says, before pulling Aaron into another kiss, stopping shortly after when he suddenly notices something. “Aaron Hotchner, are those cargo pants? Is that a  _ thigh  _ holster? Are you sure I’m not still dreaming, because, in all of the years I’ve known you, I’ve never once seen in anything besides slacks and a dress shirt.” Derek says, and Aaron rolls his eyes again. “OMG are those  _ combat boots _ ?” Derek suddenly exclaims and Aaron resists the urge to smack him. “Why are you so surprised, you’re not the only one who can do both,” Aaron says, referring to Derek’s wearing of suits when he was briefly the Interim Unit Chief. “You should wear those more often, you look hot,” Derek says in all seriousness, and Aaron can feel his cheeks burning up again. 

“Sometimes, I hate you,” Aaron says, and Derek only grins.

“That’s a lie, you love me.” He says cheekily, and Aaron can’t help smiling back at him.

_ Everything was going to be okay. _


	20. No Loose Threads

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaand we're back! Sorry for the long commercial break, but I believe that this chapter is truly worth the wait. It's taken me a good like 2 months just to write this, and that was including Christmas & Spring Break! But alas, I finally finished it on this beautiful Sunday, and have spellchecked, and edited any possible mistakes! I truly am sorry for the wait, and hope this makes up for it! Happy Spring Break! (to those who are still on it!) And enjoy the final chapter of Alpha Male!

A phone goes off, and Derek pretends to be asleep, praying that it won’t be anything. “Hotchner,” his boyfriend replies, and Derek’s heart starts to race, maybe it’s nothing, after all, Aaron answers all of his calls like that. “Mhm, okay we’ll be there in 30 minutes. Bye.” Aaron says and Derek’s little hope dies quickly. He hears the sigh from his boss/boyfriend and knows that they’ve got another case, yet Derek still pretends to be asleep.

“Derek I know you’re awake, come on.” Aaron says, already out of bed and making his side. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Derek responds tiredly, eyes still shut as he tries to kickstart his legs into moving. “We have a job to do, come on.” Aaron urges him again, already switching to his Supervisory Special Agent Hardass persona, rather than the soft loving boyfriend that Derek has come to know and love. Derek groans and pulls himself up, slightly wincing at the sharp pain it sends to his abdomen. His wounds may be two years old, yet they still have an effect on him to this day. 

After staying in the hospital for about two weeks, Derek was discharged and Aaron took it upon himself to watch over his every move, cooking for him, cleaning up after him, helping him to the bathroom (despite Derek’s dismay), showering with him- which they both enjoyed- and Aaron even occasionally brought his work home, and it was just Aaron and Derek (occasionally Jack), day in and day out, and Derek  _ loved _ it. Beth had a long trial, where she tried to plead insanity-and failed-and was later found guilty of conspiracy to commit murder against a federal agent, 4 counts of kidnapping, which got her a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison, the first 15 with no chance of parole. Roger and Lily Morrison moved back to California with family members, and they came by Derek’s room before leaving, and Lily bounded over to him and threw her arms around him, and they both gave several thanks filled with gratitude. Emily and Spencer both were put on administrative leave, and took a small vacation in a fancy resort for the mental, though they were far from it, where the spent the next 6 months recovering from the manipulation and malice Beth Clemmons fed them. It was later found out that Beth and Kade had been  _ drugging _ both of the agents, and that’s why they were easily susceptible to the lies that Beth was feeding them, and were easier to take advantage of them, yet her lies had a much worse impact on Reid, who stayed there for 9 months, getting his head back straight so that he could return to the job he knew and loved. Kade Bryant was never found and the BAU are still looking for him to this day, however there hasn’t been much progress with all of the other time-sensitive cases that the BAU has to handle on a daily basis.

Derek sluggishly gets to his feet, damn near tripping on the sheet that is on the ground, and end up stubbing his toe on the table. “Fuck.” He curses, gathering the sheet off of the ground and quickly making his side of the bed, resisting the urge to hop around and cradle his foot. Derek hears the shower water running, and he makes his way to the bathroom, brushing his teeth while Aaron showers, and after about 5 minutes they switch, Aaron getting out as Derek slips in, and after another five minutes has passed Derek exits the shower, still as bone tired as before. He ties a towel around his waist, pressing a kiss to Aaron’s cheek as he walks by and heads towards the closet. “Where are we headed today?” Derek asks as he pulls out a pair of briefs, slipping into them and getting to work drying the rest of his body. “It’s a local scene.” Aaron responds, exiting the bathroom, and Derek grins just a bit. Local means he gets to dress comfortable. He heads back into the closet and grabs a maroon muscle shirt, and some khaki cargo pants, ignoring Aaron’s bemused smile. Aaron comes around the bed, taking the lotion and rubs it on Derek’s back, smiling slightly as the soft sigh he gets in return. “I know you’re tired, but we have a job to do.” Aaron whispers in Derek’s ear, kissing his lover’s neck quickly before turning around so that Derek could return the favor. “I know, I know. How come the bad guys don’t understand the weekend?” He grumbles as he rubs the lotion on his hand before rubbing it in just as Aaron had done. After they’re done getting dressed they quickly rush downstairs to Aaron’s Suburban, and just as he gets in Aaron gets another call. It’s a short call, and as soon as he ends it, he activated his lights and sirens and Derek lays his head against the window. “Tell the rest of the team to head over, we’ve got a missing child.” Aaron says as he shoots down the road, and Derek’s heart drops. This was going to be a  _ long _ day.

As they near the crime scene, Derek gets a sinking feeling in his gut, one he can’t explain. Sure every case they work makes him sick in a way, especially those involving children, but usually  _ after _ he knows the situation and the victim. They pull up to the crime scene, which is a school bus in the middle of the street, and Derek internally groans at the sight. He and Aaron exit the car, and go past the crime scene tape, heading to the bus. When they reach the bus, they are greeted with a dead bus driver, who has a gaping hole in the middle of his forehead, splayed across the steering wheel. A detective from the local police department comes up and briefs them on what happened.

 

“Agents Hotchner and Morgan, long time no see. How’s it going?” He asks, making quick conversation with the familiar agents, and they greet him warmly, and accept the gloves he hands them. “Detective Kelly, nice to see you again. What happened here?” Derek asks, slipping the gloves on as he observes the scene. “This bus was on the way home from the local charter school, when the bus driver stopped because of a car in the middle of the road. Witness accounts say that the bus driver opened the door and started to approach, then he turned around quickly and ran back to the bus. Next thing they saw was a man walking towards them with a gun, and he shot the bus driver before he could close the doors,” Derek winces as he thinks of all the frightened children who were witness to the terrible act of violence. Derek walks up the steps on the bus, checking around the body for any clues, and then he turns and starts walking down the aisle, taking note of all of the forgotten backpacks, and school items still in the seats. 

  
As Derek looks around the bus, Aaron continues talking to the Detective. “How many children were on the bus?” He asks, and the Detective pauses for a moment. “At least twenty, ages ranging from from 6 to 16 year olds.”

“Only one was taken?”

“Yes, Anna Middleton, the youngest. Only 6.” The detective says. 

“These buses usually have two cameras, front and back, can we review the footage?” Aaron asks, and the Detective nods, heading off retrieve an iPad. Derek stops at a seat in the middle of the bus, where he notices a name tag.  _ Anna M. _ There are obvious signs of a struggle, and Derek comes to the conclusion that this is the child who was taken, noting the bright pink backpack forgotten on the floor, papers flung about everywhere. He begins rifling through her things when something gleaming underneath the seat catches his eye.

Aaron looks through the footage, wincing as the Unsub murders the bus driver, and makes his way through the aisle, passing several of the scared children. The Unsub finally comes to a stop at a seat in the middle, where Aaron sees a vaguely familiar girl sitting unfazed to the chaos, for her view was blocked by the seat in front of her. The Unsub twirls the girl’s hair through his fingers, causing her to frown at the unfamiliar man messing with her. One of the older kids, a boy who resembles the younger girl, gets to his feet quickly, yelling at the Unsub to leave the girl alone, trying to pry his hands off of her. Aaron watches in horror as the Unsub turns and punches the teenage boy, causing the little girl to cry out as presumably her brother, gets two fists to the face and is knocked back into the adjacent seat. Anna is crying now, and the other teenage boys on the bus begin to get anxious, Aaron notices, and so does the Unsub who pulls a necklace off of the young girl’s neck and throws it to the ground, he squats for a moment, both cameras lose view of him, and then a second later the Unsub is back on his feet, pulling the little girl roughly by her arm. As the Unsub approaches the front of the bus, crying girl in hand, he pauses to look directly at the camera. Slowly, he pulls his mask off and grins at the camera. “Come and get me.” Kade Bryant taunts, before shooting the camera and taking off with the girl.

Derek reaches underneath the seat and grabs the small chain of a necklace. A  _ familiar _ necklace.

Almost like the one he gave to a little girl two years ago.

Derek is on his feet in an instant, rushing to the front of the bus. “Hotch I kno-” He stops short as he looks at his boss who stares intently at the screen of an iPad. “Derek.”

And Derek’s stomach drops. 

Aaron’s use of his first name in a professional environment is a  _ very _ big indicator that something is incredibly wrong, so when Aaron shows the frozen picture of the one and only Kade Bryant, and in his arms the little girl who’d Derek  _ helped _ get back home two years ago,  Aaron can barely catch Derek’s  _ hand  _ before it tries to slam into the bus door. “Agent Morgan  _ calm down _ .” Aaron commands, noticing the curious glances his boyfriend receives from the Detective and other officers on the scene.

Just as Aaron using his first name around others portrays urgency, Aaron using Derek’s  _ title _ is an entirely different story, and is only used when Derek is on the edge of snapping, and/or stepping over the imaginary line and doing something completely reckless. “We need to find him,  _ now _ .” Derek says after taking a moment to breathe. 

Detective Kelly senses that there is something personal going on, so he nods at Aaron and goes to talk to one of the uniforms on scene.

“We’re going to find him Derek, we  _ will. _ ”

* * *

Derek paces the floor in the BAU conference room, as the other team members work quickly to track down the missing girl. After calming Derek down, the rest of the team were informed to return back to headquarters, and once Derek and Aaron arrived, they were quickly briefed on the situation.

“With all of their... _ history _ , it’s obvious that Bryant’s main focus is on Morgan. The message, the necklace, he’s  _ taunting _ you, Morgan.” Reid says, reviewing the case file, and talking with surprising ease as he profiles one of his former torturers. “What does Anna have to do with anything? She’s just a little girl who I helped after she got lost. She wasn’t apart of a BAU case, so what does the bastard want with her?” Derek asks as he continues to angrily pace the room, ignoring the concerned looks he gets from his teammates. “You go any faster and soon you’ll be burning holes through that carpet.” Rossi comments, and Derek ignores that as well.

“He wants to torture you. Everything he has ever done since you first met, has been to hurt you, and I doubt his agenda has changed.” Agent Hotchner states, keeping on eye on Derek and the other on Garcia who is busy retracing Kade’s footsteps. “We should assume that he’s taking Anna somewhere relevant to Morgan. Somewhere that’s caused you extreme amounts of pain, somewhere very meaningful. He’s had two years to plan this, and I doubt he’s going to get caught easily.” David says, watching as Derek’s eyes travel somewhere outside of the room. “Excuse me for a moment.” The distressed agent says, before walking out of the conference room, and headed towards a man holding a bag.

“Hotch...should we be worried about him?” Jennifer asks, and one glance around the room tells Aaron that they’d all been thinkin it. Aaron lets out a sigh, quickly glancing at his boyfriend before looking back at the rest of his team. “He’s been through hell and back, and he’s still standing, he may be a little antsy right now, but I don’t think we should worry. The only thing we need to worry about is that little girl, and the bastard who took her.” Aaron says, with finality in his voice and Jennifer nods. Derek looks up and catches his eye, gesturing for him to come to him.

“I’ll be right back, Garcia when I get back I want that timeline on Bryant’s whereabouts the last two years.” Aaron says, before stepping out of the room. Derek shakes the hand of whoever he was talking to, before meeting Aaron halfway, stopping in front of Hotch’s office. “What was that about?” Aaron asks as he approaches his agent. “That was an officer with the CSU,” Derek holds up a piece of paper. “They were processing the scene when he found this, and looks like Kade left me a note.” Derek says, before handing the paper to Aaron.

_ Now that I have your attention, it’s time to play a game. Are you ready, Agent Morgan? _

_773 312 872_ _60604_ _62563_ _60605_ _60654_ _60603_ _60625_

Aaron frowns at the paper. “What do these mean?” He asks, looking over all the numbers. “They look familiar, I can’t tell if they’re some type of code, or what. My mind is running like crazy, have the kid look at them.” Derek says, feeling another bout of unease as he tries to recall the vaguely familiar set of numbers. “How’s the family doing?” Aaron asks as they walk back towards the conference room. “Worried sick out of their minds. It’s like two years ago, only this time  _ much _ worse because they know that she’s  _ actually _ missing this time. Add that with the trauma and guilt of the older brother for not being able to protect his baby sister? We need to find Anna, and quick, or else that family will not be able to recover.” Derek says, pushing open the door and allowing Aaron to walk in ahead of him. 

“What’s that?” Spencer asks, glancing curiously at the paper in Morgan’s hand. “Was hoping you could help out with that. It’s a note from Bryant.” Derek explains, handing the paper over for the young agent to analyze as he accepts a mug of coffee from Aaron. Derek takes a sip, checking his watch. It’s been 6 hours since Anna was kidnapped, and they’re no closer to finding her than they were before.

Every detail, and clue from play on repeat in his mind.

The forgotten necklace he’d given to Anna. The taunting smile Kade had directed at the camera, that deep down Derek knew was directed at _him_. Aaron’s words. _He wants to torture you._ _He’s going to take her somewhere that’s caused you extreme amounts of pain, somewhere very meaningful._ Reid cocks his head at the paper, still analyzing what Derek knows has got to be several different patterns and algorithms somewhere in the depths of the young genius’ mind. Derek takes another sip of the coffee, mind still replaying all of the details. A quick glance at the note in Reid’s hands makes Derek stop suddenly in his pacing. 

_312.60605. Somewhere that’s meaningful to you. He wants to_ ** _torture_** _you._

The coffee mug falls from Derek’s hand, landing on the ground with a clunk and spilling coffee all over the carpet. This catches the immediate attention of every agent in the room. Aaron is by Derek’s side within seconds. “Morgan, what is it?” The boss says, worry laced heavily within his voice.

Derek sucks in a breath, trying to remember how to breathe as he glances up to look in Aaron’s eyes.

“I know where he’s going.”

* * *

Derek rushes to his office, grabbing his go-bag, the team not far behind him.

Moments before, he’d explained how he knew where Kade was headed. “How do you know?” Reid asks, looking at Derek with wide eyes. “It just clicked, I thought those numbers were some form of patterns but then what Hotch said came back to me. Everything Kade has done, has been to hurt me,  _ torture _ me in some type of way. 312? That’s the area code for the South Side of  _ Chicago _ , where I’m from, where my family lives. He’s headed there, and he already has a 6 hour head start.” Derek explains quickly, and a brief nod from Aaron has the entire team on their feet at once, Derek in front as they rush out of the conference room, Aaron with his phone in hand, calling ahead for the jet, and Jennifer with  _ her  _ phone in hand, calling the Chicago PD to have someone sent over to Derek’s family.

As Derek is checking both of his weapons, Aaron appears in the doorway. He’s ditched his suit and slacks, replacing them with wear similar to Derek’s, to which despite his current situation, the younger smiles a bit. “Come on, the jet should be ready in ten.” Aaron says, shifting the duffel bag onto his shoulder, while bending to grab Derek’s. Derek nods, placing his guns in their rightful holsters, and grabbing his go-bag from his boyfriend. They rush out of his office, heading straight towards the elevator which is currently being held open by Prentiss. 

The rest is all a blur for Derek. He can vaguely remember hopping in the Suburban, and Hotch activating the sirens and lights getting them to the airfield within fifteen minutes. The 2 hours it takes to get to Chicago go by quickly, with Derek and Aaron on and off the phone with several people on the ground in Chicago, as well as Garcia who was working her best at tracking Kade.

“Okay thank you.” Aaron hangs up the phone. “Chicago S.W.A.T. will be on standby when we touch down, and they are offering us any and every resource.” Derek nods, placing his phone back against his ear, and the team continues preparing for their landing in thirty minutes. Aaron slips his vest on over his shirt, accepting the help from Jennifer in closing it, and checking his Sig again before placing it in his thigh holster, which has caught the attention of Prentiss. “Did you raid Derek’s closet or something?” The brunette woman asks, getting an eye roll from her boss and a few chuckles from Rossi.

As soon as they’re on the ground the BAU team is on their feet, Derek in the lead as they exit the plane, met with two Suburbans. While being reintroduced to the officers of the CPD, Derek gets a phone call, and Aaron immediately knows that something is wrong. The younger agent’s shoulders suddenly get very tense, and he turns away from the rest of the team. “Alright, calm down. I just landed and I’ll go check it out.” 

Aaron regards Derek with a questioning look. “What’s wrong?” He asks, and has to stop himself from gasping when Derek turns around to look at him. His eyes are completely shuttered, and Derek looks  _ tired. _ Like he has the entire world on his shoulders, and Aaron can’t recall ever feeling this helpless. “That was Desiree, she’s been calling our mom and she hasn’t answered.” Derek says, and Aaron can’t help the describe the feeling he gets in his stomach upon hearing his lover’s words. 

“Well what are you waiting for, we got to go!” Aaron says suddenly, and Derek nods, putting his game face back on as he rushes to the Suburban. “Follow us!” Aaron commands as he and Derek hop into the nearest Suburban, Jennifer jumping in the backseat as well. Derek waits only a moment for is passengers to get buckled before he activates his lights and sirens, presses on the gas, and zooms off, the other members of his team, as well as officers from his old precinct not far behind him.

They reach his childhood home in a record of 15 minutes, and anybody who  _ may _ have been in his home, messing with his mother would have an immediate heads up with the amount of lights and sirens flashing all at once. Anybody who they passed probably thought there was a major crisis going on somewhere, and in Derek’s world there  _ was _ . The engine has barely stopped running before he’s hopping out, Aaron right beside him, as well as the several other officers and members of his team.

They rush to the door, which is slightly ajar, doing nothing to ease the worry slowly consuming Derek’s mind. He kicks the door the rest of the way open and he and his team start clearing the rooms one by one. There’s obvious signs of struggle, and Derek is starting to go out of his mind with fear for his mother. “Up here!” Somebody yells from upstairs, and Derek quickly rushes up the steps, making his way into his mother’s room where he finds an officer kneeling beside his unconscious mother. Upon Derek’s entrance, the officer quickly backs up, allowing Derek to take his place. “She still has a pulse, I’ll call an ambulance.” The officer tells Derek who nods in acknowledgment, before leaving the room. Despite the officer’s reassurance, Derek still places two fingers above the carotid artery, feeling a weak but still constant pulse. He lets out a breath of relief as he wraps his arms around her, wincing at the bruises on her face. Aaron appears in the doorway and rushes to Derek’s side. “There’s no sign of Bryant anywhere, is she okay?” He asks, placing a hand on Derek’s shoulder.

Derek sighs once more, trying to calm down. “She just looks beat up, I’m worried about this, though.” He says, pointing towards a bleeding gash in the middle of her forehead. Aaron  steps out of the way as the EMTS rush into the room.

“Don’t worry ma, I’m gonna find this sonofabitch.” Derek says as he steps out of the way for the EMTS to do their job, watching as they quickly load his mother onto a stretcher and rush her out of the room. “Derek.” Aaron says, and from years of knowing him, Derek notes the concern in his lover’s voice. “I’m not going to let him hurt anyone else, Hotch.” Derek says, and Aaron offers a small grin at the determination in his agent’s voice. “He won’t.” The older man says, before holding the door open for the younger man so he can pass. “Let’s get to work.”

~   
Back at the precinct, the BAU team scrambles as they rush to find the man hellbent on torturing their friend. After another dead end, Derek is on the verge of snapping and Aaron places a hand on his shoulder in warning. “Derek, breathe.” He reminds, and the younger agent barely acknowledges the words, his mind too busy running fucking marathons in the depths of his brain. The rest of the team is growing frustrated as well, as they realize that they’re on the clock, and need to find the girl before Bryant does something to seriously hurt her, or tries to get another victim. Derek’s sisters were currently at the hospital with his mother, as well as Jennifer and Rossi who volunteered to stay there in case Bryant decides to come back. 

“Wait, guys we’ve been looking at this all wrong.” Reid says suddenly, after reading a file for a moment. Derek sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. “What do you mean, kid?” He asks, glaring at the board with several clippings of random facts, and pictures on it. “We’ve been trying to narrow down places in Chicago that Bryant would be hiding, looking at warehouses or someplace that he could transport and keep a little girl without anyone noticing.” Reid states, and Derek looks at the youngest agent. “Okay, what about it?” Derek asks, wishing that the genius would just get to the point. Reid, sensing from body language catches on, and gets to the point. “This whole thing is about you, Derek. From the start, Kade Bryant wants to hurt you, wants you to feel the most pain. That’s why he zeroed in on the little girl you got shot for, that’s why he came to Chicago in the first place, why he attacked your mother, he wants to  _ hurt you _ .” Spencer explains, and Aaron’s eyes widen as he takes in the information. “So, you’re saying that, since he’s trying to hurt Derek, he’d pick a place that caused Derek the most pain?” Aaron asks, and the younger agent nods, whilst Derek zeroes in on the map on the board. “Okay, so where exactly would that be?” Aaron asks, and all of the agents look towards the Chicago native.

“I think I have an idea.” Derek says, and he points to a spot on the map, one that was very familiar.   
~

Not even an hour later, the team is fully geared and pulling up to the now abandoned Community Center, a place designed to make kids feel free, but only resulted in Derek feeling trapped. They pulled in dark, no lights or sirens on as to not alert Bryant of their arrival. A helicopter overhead lets the team know that there are two heat signatures in the building, and give directions for the team to go. The team splits up to cover the entire building, with Derek, Hotch and two SWAT members breaching the front door, and two other teams covering the back and side entrances.

As Derek walks into the familiar building he can’t help remembering all the times he’d come to this community center  _ before _ Buford, and how he can’t think of any happy memories after him in regards to this place. As they’re clearing the hall they pass the locker room, the same locker room that a couple years ago he’d confronted his tormentor in, the first time Aaron Hotchner had ever seen him cry, and it makes him sick that he’s back. 

Just as Hotch and the other three member kick open a door to clear a door on the left, Derek’s ears catch the smallest sound, a small whimper coming from a room two doors down, and he gestures for Aaron to follow him. They quietly make their way toward the door, and with a small tap from Aaron, Derek kicks open the door, coming face to face with the equipment room, and tied up between the rows is a teary-eyed young Anna Middleton whose eyes widen when she sees Derek. All the stress that’d been weighing on him since this morning, starts to leave only to come back in full force as when Derek steps closer he notices the figure in the dark behind her, gun pressed roughly against her temple. Wordlessly, Derek drops his gun, and from behind him the still unnoticed Aaron understands that Kade must be in the room with them. Taking advantage of the darkness and the fact that he still remains somewhat hidden behind Derek’s massive form, Aaron silently darts to the left behind a row of abandoned equipment. Once he hears Aaron disappear from behind him, Derek begins to speak.

“Put the gun down.” He demands, receiving a chuckle from Bryant who steps into view. “Derek you are in no position of control hear, if you want Anna to survive this night I’d suggest cutting the Alpha act.” The disgruntled man says, and as he steps under the lightbulb in the middle of the room Derek can tell that the last two years for Bryant have been quite frankly...hell. His face is ungroomed, with a beard that’s scraggly, and hair that keeps falling into his face. He appears to have lost weight, and his eyes can’t stop twitching. “Woah there, Kade you look a little rough. Why don’t you release the girl and let me take you in custody so that you can get a decent meal yeah?” Derek asks, although  he’s spewing straight bullshit. Despite appearances, Kade is still sharp, and narrows his eyes at Derek’s faux promises. “Do you think I’m stupid?”

“Very.” Derek responds without hesitation, and he glances quickly at Anna who has her eyes shut tightly. “But not stupid enough to kill a little girl who is by all means innocent. Whatever problems you have are clearly with me otherwise we wouldn’t be  _ here _ of all places, so why don’t you let the girl go, and we can handle this ourselves, yeah?” Derek asks, and he does his best to remain somewhat unwavering in his speech, waiting for Aaron to get into place. “Why so you can take me somewhere and kill me? I DON’T THINK SO!” Kade yells, and suddenly he’s in Derek’s face, surprising the profiler who’d been making eye contact with Aaron who was in place behind Anna, enough to knock the bigger man back a couple steps. “YOU RUINED MY LIFE! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I’M GOING TO LET YOU OFF EASY, HUH!” Bryant screams and Derek looks beyond his head where Aaron has the girl fully untied and has her in his arms. He looks back at Kade, who is busy ranting and waving his gun in Derek’s face, not focused in the slightest. “...IF I HAVE TO KILL THAT GIRL-” Kade stops as he looks back to where Anna  _ had _ been,  only to find the empty chair and his face grows a shade of beet red as he takes in the scene. He turns back towards Derek, whose hand has regained his gun, and he lets out a feral growl before full on  _ tackling _ Derek Morgan. 

Morgan completely underestimated Kade’s strength as he finds the breath knocked out of him upon the tackle. The two wrestle for a minute, with Kade managing to knock Derek’s gun out of his hand, and sends it flying into the dark somewhere. With his legs, Derek kicks Kade off of him, and as he gets to his feet Bryant darts out of the room, and Derek is dumbfounded but takes off after the deranged man anyways, gun forgotten somewhere in the shadows of the room. Bryant’s quicker than Derek expected as he’s about halfway down the hall before Derek even starts running. “He’s headed to the back!” Derek says into his comm and suddenly he hears thudding of several agents’ feet behind him as he takes off behind Bryant. Derek almost goes flying into a wall when Kade makes a sharp turn down another hall and damn, just how big is this place again?   
  


There are several new doors on the hallway, and Derek groans in frustration as he loses sight of Bryant. When his team finally catches up to him breathing heavily he splits them up again. “He could be in anyone of these, and he does have a gun so be careful.” He says, as they break off into clearing the rooms. As the only two left, he and Jennifer head to the door all the way at the end of the hallway, dead in the middle, and it’s only when he catches sight of it that he remembers exactly where he is. This was the sleeping corridor, open for anyone who had nowhere to sleep for the night, babysitting for parents who had to work early or late, and Derek was here almost regularly after long nights of football practice...and other reasons. And the door in the middle? Buford’s office, and no doubt where Kade was hiding. 

Jennifer walks in front of him, and with a tap to her shoulder, she easily kicks the door open, stepping out of the way quickly so that Derek can enter first. The office is just how he remembers it all those dreadful years ago, large desk in the middle, with several trophies and plaques hanging on the wall, and to the far right there’s a sofa with throw pillows scattered around everywhere. There’s some vandalism as to be expected after the news of Buford came out, and there’s red spray paint on the walls, as well as broken glass from where pictures have been shattered, to the left there’s a big T.V. that’s now barely hanging on the wall, as well as the several gaming systems that Buford used to bribe his victims with, smashed to bits. Underneath the tv is the mini-fridge, that held every snack desired by a young boy. In his desk is where he’d occasionally keep the Helgeson wine, if he didn’t feel like driving out to the cabin. Derek was very familiar with this room, it brought him so much pain, and served as a front to parents who would have meetings with his tormentor, and not know any of the things he’d been doing to their children. A surprised gasp from Jennifer has Derek turning around quick, finding Kade Bryant with his arm around her neck, gun pressed against her skull. Jennifer’s eyes are calm, telling Derek to shoot. He shakes his head no, he doesn’t have a clear shot, and he’s not going to be responsible for her death. “Remember this room Derek? I’m sure it was your favorite.” Kade taunts, kicking the door shut as he moves with Jennifer, Derek’s backup gun follows his every move. “Let her go, Kade.” Derek demands, gun unwavering. “Why? Are you fucking her too? Does Agent  _ Hotchner _ know? Or do you do it together?” With his gun he brushes Jennifer’s hair out of her face and she winces, causing Derek to clench his jaw. He pulls her shirt aside, and Derek sends a shot beside his foot. “Don’t  _ touch _ her.” He demands, aware of the footsteps that descend outside of the room at the sound of the gunshot. “Aht, aht, if one of them even grabs the door handle, I will blow her brains out.” Kade says menacingly, cocking his gun at the side of Jennifer’s head to prove his seriousness. “Don’t repeat, I repeat do not breach. Back away from the door.” Derek says into his comm, ignoring the look that Jennifer continues to send his way.

 

He’s not going to take a risk with her life.

“She really is a beauty, Agent Jareau is it? If I weren’t in such a rush for time we’d have so much fun together. You seem like a wild one.” He says, tilting her neck so that he has full access to it. Derek cocks his gun. “Kade, leave her alone, she’s done nothing to you.” Derek all but growls, stepping a bit closer as Kade backs up a bit. “Yeah you’re right, she’s done nothing to cause me any grief.” Quicker than Jennifer can blink, Kade is hitting her over the head with the butt of his gun, shoving her unconscious body at an already anticipating Derek Morgan, who catches her with ease. 

As he quickly tends to Jennifer he hears the familiar cocking of a gun, and feels the cool metal pressed to the back of his head. “You’re mother on the other hand, well she brought you into this world, so anything you’ve done ultimately falls on her.” Derek’s jaw clenches at the mention of his mother. “Oh me and Fran had a _fun_ time. She’s a screamer, too.” Bryant says cheekily, and just as Derek goes to move the barrel of the gun presses harder on his head. “Slow down there, Agent Morgan. I wouldn’t want for your blood to get all over precious Jennifer.” He warns, and Derek squeezes his eyes shut. 

How the hell did he get here? This man has single handedly managed to get Derek Morgan at his most vulnerable moments, and now he’s going to die with his back facing him, and poor Jennifer is going to come too with  all 180 pounds of Derek Morgan sprawled across her all because he wasn’t quick enough to reach his fucking gun-

Derek’s eyes snap open, as he remembers the gun Jennifer had gripped in her hands. It was just under Jennifer’s thigh, dropped there when Kade had first grabbed her. “Alright Bryant, you’ve won. If you’re going to kill me, just don’t do it right here. She doesn’t deserve this.” Derek forces himself to  _ plead. _ From behind him he hears Kade let out an annoyed sigh. “Okay, you can’t ever say I did nothing for you.” He says smugly and Derek rolls his eyes. “I’m so sorry, Jennifer.” Derek whispers, loud enough for Kade to hear as he grips her thigh with his head down, and when he feels the cool metal of the government issued weapon, he grins to himself, taking a moment to grip it before he does a complete 360, taking Bryant by surprise and before the other can move Derek has his gun trained at his heart. “Put the gun down,  _ now _ .” Derek says, and Kade looks to his left and right for a way out only to come up with none. His arms twitch and Derek knows what he’s going to do. “Kade don’t be stupid, DON’T DO IT!” Derek yells, but Kade brings the gun up anyways, and Derek pulls the trigger, shooting three times...just as he was trained.  

The door busts open, with Rossi and Emily in the front taking in the scene. Kade writhes on the ground, choking on his own blood and Derek goes to stand over him. “That was for my mother you son of a bitch.” He says, before kicking the gun away from the dying man.

Derek quickly rushes back over to Jennifer, and the rest of his team eyes her with worried eyes. “She should be fine, call for an EMT.” Derek says, as he cradles her head, watching as she winces at the contact. “I’m sorry, J.J.” He whispers. 

Derek remains sat on the floor, even after the EMT’s have got a slowly stirring Jennifer on a gurney. He stays sat while the crime scene technicians take pictures, and then clean up, when the medical examiner comes to take Kade Bryant’s body and even when Aaron appears in the doorway. 

“Derek.” Aaron says, and the ebony agent doesn’t respond. 

Aaron steps into the room. “Derek.” He tries again, but the other man’s gaze doesn’t stray from it’s fixed position on the wall. Aaron follows his boyfriend’s gaze to a picture on the wall of a smiling Buford, who looks completely harmless with his hand on a young Derek Morgan’s shoulder, and while Derek has a smile on his face, his eyes clearly haven’t got the memo. The only thing that even resembles a smile is the forced grin on his face, but looking at young Derek’s face it’s a clear cry for help, that unfortunately never came. “Babe.” Aaron tries, and Derek finally looks to him, eyes bloodshot red as he stares at the concern in his lover’s eyes. Aaron can’t help but stare dumbfounded at just how broken Derek looks.

Big, Strong, and Muscular Derek Morgan, who doesn’t take shit from anyone, in that moment looks utterly  _ broken _ and right then and there Aaron decides he’s going to be the one to put the pieces back together. “How come nobody noticed? How didn’t they know?” Derek all but sobs, as Aaron pulls the dejected man into his arms. Aaron has no words to offer because he quite frankly has no answer. There’s no justification for any of the sexual abuse Derek and several other young boys suffered at the hands of Carl Buford, and it amazes him that none of the parents noticed, and it may just be that because he’s a profiler he can recognize almost immediately any signs of Jack’s distress, but you’d think that other parents would notice their children’s troubles. “Can we go home?” Derek asks after a moment, and Aaron’s taken aback by just how childlike Derek is in that moment. From knowing his past, he knows that Derek couldn’t have had that great of a childhood with his father dying, and the rest of it being robbed by Carl Buford. Aaron kisses Derek on his tear-stained cheek. “Yeah, let’s go home.” He says, before standing up and pulling the other man up with him. They’re halfway to the door when Derek suddenly stops, as if he’s forgotten something.

Before Aaron can react, Derek pulls out his gun and points it at the dreadful picture, pulling the trigger without even a blink. Together, Aaron and Derek watch in silence as the already shattered frame falls from the wall, landing on the ground in several shards of broken glass. Derek takes a moment, breathing heavily as he stares as the ruined picture on the ground, with a bullet hole piercing right through Carl Buford’s head. Then, with one final glance at the picture, he looks away from his past, and looks toward his future, who is standing in the doorway, waiting patiently. 

 

With no looking back, Derek steps toward his future and grabs his hand, and together they exit the room, walking to what the rest of the night, and their lives, will hold.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The End.
> 
> Wow, I can't believe. The first story I've actually 100% completed. This is so crazy, I can't believe we're really here! This story has been in the works for about a year or two now, and I've finally completed it and I can say it's all because of you guys who read it. Had you not been giving such great feedback, and wonderful comments, I probably would not have finished writing this story, and not have had the motivation to actually put it out there for people to see. I truly can't thank you guys enough, this is a big stepping stone for me, because it's the first story that I've actually put hard work in and finished, and I'm really proud of myself for it! Thank you all for being on this journey with me, and encouraging me to put my thoughts onto a word document and bringing it (somewhat) to life. I truly hope you enjoyed this story, and can't wait to come up with more stories, just so I can have some more conversations and interactions with you guys.
> 
> Call me overdramatic, I don't care, but this has been single handedly one of the best experiences I've ever had, and I've loved every moment of it. Like always, leave feedback! I love hearing your thoughts, and would like to hear how you felt about the book. I love you all, and you guys and this story will forever have a place in my heart! 
> 
> Much love,  
> Kaitlyn


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